US housing starts increased by 17% amid reports of rising demand in the suburbs but a resurgence in Covid-19 threatens the recovery. In related news: a renovation boom boosts Canadian lumber stocks, leads to treated lumber shortages in Ottawa; Maine’s loggers face tough times; and Arkansas’s Governor addresses growing importance of timber.

In Forestry/Climate news: BC seeks intel on the impact of climate change on its resource industries; researchers say climate change is impacting Labrador’s caribou herds; UBC invents a portable DNA device to detect tree pests; and 9-axle B-trains make log hauling safer and more efficient. Meanwhile, mass timber gains momentum with BC government support and FPInnovations’ guidebooks. 

Finally, why Bigfoot and other beasts of the forest loom large in the human imagination.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor