Despite trade differences, US & Canadian lumber companies voted overwhelmingly to continue the softwood lumber check-off program—a nation-wide promotion program—which is great news and music to the ears of this Tree Frog. In related news: the House passed a third-party bill requiring the Canadian government to consider wood in federal infrastructure projects; Canada’s newest architecture school features CLT; and modular CLT may help address the UK’s dire need for housing.

Elsewhere, awards abound: a sampling includes: FPAC’s Lifetime Achievement to  Michael Jordan (posthumously) of Canfor; FPAC’s Women in Forestry Award of Excellence to Tanya Wick of Tolko; FPAC’s Rising Star Award to Matthew Buxton of Canfor; and FPAC’s Forest Community Champion Award to Richard Cannings, MP South Okanagan-West Kootenay. And here are a few awards courtesy of the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities.

Finally; an Alberta drone test may offer cheaper reforestation; an Oregon online tool raises wildfire awareness; and the pellet industry seeks to bridge biomass’s ideological divide.

–Kelly Mccloskey, Tree Frog Editor