International Paper announced that it will permanently close its containerboard and packaging facilities in Savannah and its lumber and containerboard operations in Riceboro. In other Business news: the US and EU unveiled details of their trade deal; the US Trade Commission said Chinese cabinet duties will remain in place; a US trade court dismissed JD Irving’s lumber appeal; BC First Nations explore free trade with US Nations; Ontario invests in worker training; the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says 1 in 5 companies won’t survive 6 months due to tariffs; and New Zealand and Nordic timber companies face troubled times.

In other news: the USDA invests in private forests in the US south; Missoula experts push back on USDA’s consolidation plan; BC’s caribou populations are predicted to fall due to climate change; UBC’s Gary Bull opines on forest management and biodiversity; and two letters on the future of North Cowichan’s Municipal Forest Reserve. Meanwhile, positive mass timber news from the Softwood Lumber Board, and a real estate development company (fire test).

Finally, WorkSafeBC is looking at new regulation requirements for combustible dust. 

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor