Western Forest Products has joined ranks with many other Canadian lumber companies, making their first major purchase of a US mill. Acquiring Washington based Columbia Vista means they can offer more Douglas-fir products to their Japanese customers. But Western Canadian mills continue to struggle with both log supply and high fibre costs. And while western mills are still in strike mode, Unifor members in eastern Canada have signed a four-year deal. 

In Forestry news, protesters have shut down a Sierra Pacific logging operation in California; Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing changes to that state’s logging rules; and the Real News on how the Finnish manage their forests. 

To all our US readers, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, and send you off with a story about preserving the US wild turkey hunt, “Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt”.

Sandy McKellar, Tree Frog Editor