Millar Western announced that it will indefinitely curtail its Quesnel River Pulp mill, while premier-designate Lorne Doerkson seeks to reverse the decision. In related news: Newdfoundland’s Sexton Lumber suspended operations following a fire; forest industry leaders say Ottawa’s $6.5B plan offers no quick fix; Nippon plans to restart its Longview mill as a new lawsuit broadens potential legal damages; Mercer updates its Chapter 11 plan; and Wisconsin forestry exports hit a record despite tariffs. Meanwhile: Canada’s banks want mortgage rules relaxed; US remodelling activity held flat; the Wood Pellet Association of Canada named Gregg Koehler president; and the US Lumber Dealers new CEO is Jessica Bridges.
In Forestry news: the COP30 Presidency unveiled a roadmap to halt deforestation by 2030; Montana and the BLM expanded their forest partnership; Alaska may adopt a plan for the Haines State Forest; a court hearing seeks to stop logging in Giant Sequoia National Monument; lifting the Roadless Rule could drive a logging boom in the Tongass; Congressman Michael Baumgartner introduced the Healthy Forests Incentives Act; a Yreka, California group won a $500K US Endowment award; and Skyward Wildfire advanced its lightning abatement technology.
Finally, don’t forget to commemorate Remembrance Day in Canada, Veterans Day in the USA. The Frogs will be back on Thursday.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) has announced two leadership appointments following the retirement of Vaughan Bassett, who has stepped down as president and director. Gregg Koehler of Sinclar Group/Premium Pellet has been elected president by WPAC’s board of directors, while Yasuhisa (Yasu) Okamoto of Drax has been appointed as a Class A director. … Koehler has been with Sinclar Group since 2002, holding progressively senior positions. He currently serves as sales manager for Sinclar Group Forest Products and sales director of Premium Pellet. A longstanding WPAC director, Koehler brings extensive experience in forest products and wood pellet markets, along with a strong understanding of the association and its priorities. Okamoto is managing director of Drax Asia Japan, where he leads business development and the company’s Tokyo office. He established Sumitomo Corporation’s biomass business in 2002 and played a significant role in developing Japan’s wood pellet market. 
OTTAWA — Forestry industry leaders say Ottawa’s historic $6.5-billion funding package will give the sector a much-needed boost but won’t save struggling mills overnight. The federal government’s spending plan announced last week proposes to roll out funding over six years to help modernize aging mills, boost productivity and develop new products. But the money isn’t expected to start flowing until 2027-28, even as U.S. tariffs, weak markets and rising costs continue to threaten jobs and operations across the country. Derek Nighbor, president and chief executive of the Forest Products Association of Canada, called the $6.5-billion commitment “precedent setting.” But he warned that 2027 will likely be another difficult year for the industry as housing starts remain weak and U.S. tariffs persist. The forestry sector has been battered by years of mill closures and layoffs. …Ken Farr, president of the Canadian Institute of Forestry, said he worries the funding may come too late to help some struggling mills.
Food and forestry exports from Wisconsin were on the rise for the first half of the year, despite significant challenges caused by changing tariff policies. Agricultural exports were at the highest level on record for the first half of 2026, totaling more than $2 billion and representing a 5 percent increase from 2025 levels. …Sales to Canada were also down in the first half of the year, though not as steeply. Canada is by far the largest buyer of Wisconsin products, making up a third of all ag exports from the state in 2025. DATCP’s report shows sales were down nearly $16 million in the first half of the year. …But the report did highlight some growth in sales to Canada, including a 71 percent increase in ethanol exports.
Canada’s largest banks and developers are urging Ottawa to help first-time homebuyers with their down payments, relax 
NEW YORK — Mercer announced that it has commenced the next phase of its previously announced comprehensive recapitalization pursuant to a restructuring support agreement. …To effectuate the transactions contemplated, Mercer and one non-operating subsidiary have commenced voluntary Chapter 11 prepackaged cases under the United States Bankruptcy Code and filed a plan of reorganization in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Mercer’s operating subsidiaries have not commenced, and will not be parties to, the Chapter 11 Cases, and will continue to operate their businesses as usual and in the ordinary course. …Mercer expects to complete the Recapitalization by the end of calendar year 2026. Upon emergence from the process, Mercer expects to reduce its existing senior note debt by approximately 88% and eliminate more than $100 million of annual cash interest payments. 
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has released its 
Alaska Department of Natural Resources staff are gearing up to present the head of the department with a plan that would significantly alter how the Haines State Forest is managed. That’s after agency staff spent months reviewing and responding to public input on an earlier draft. But according to agency documents, the majority of the changes recommended by the public — including overwhelming opposition to opening the entire forest to timber harvest for the first time — went unaddressed in the final version. “They pretty much said no to everything we suggested,” said Mark Sogge, of the Upper Lynn Canal Fish and Game Advisory Committee. …“The process to revise the current plan started in 2023, when the Dunleavy administration directed DNR to allow for the development of carbon credit projects. …At least three public comments supported the changes in hopes that more logging would boost the local economy.
HELENA — Montana and federal land management officials are expanding their partnership to manage forests and public lands across the state. Gov. Greg Gianforte joined Bureau of Land Management Director Steve Pearce and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Director Amanda Kaster at the Montana State Capitol on Monday to sign a new memorandum of understanding strengthening the state’s partnership with the BLM through the Good Neighbor Authority. The Good Neighbor Authority provides a framework that allows state and federal agencies to work together on forest and rangeland management projects. Under the new agreement, the state and BLM plan to increase collaborative work aimed at expanding timber production, restoring forests and watersheds, reducing hazardous fuels and improving wildlife habitat on public lands.
For decades, the Roadless Rule banned new roadbuilding and logging across millions of acres of national forest land. …Around half of the Tongass in Southeast Alaska has no active roads, an area spanning more than 9 million acres. …the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, said the forest supports Lingit traditions, including harvesting berries and hunting deer. U.S. Department of Agriculture has said rolling back the Roadless Rule would give firefighters access to fight wildfires and remove regulatory barriers. In this part of Alaska, where wildfires are rare, many think that’s an excuse to bolster the timber industry, which has declined significantly since the 1990s. But could the move stimulate a logging boom in the Tongass? “There certainly is a piece that would make some supply available,” said Tessa Axelson, executive director at the Alaska Forest Association, a timber advocacy group. “It is not significant volume that is going to fix the challenges the industry has.”
A hearing on whether to grant a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction to stop logging in Giant Sequoia Groves in the Sequoia National Forest’s Giant Sequoia National Monument was scheduled to be held today. …A lawsuit was filed by the John Muir Society Earth Island Institute, the Tule River Conservancy and Sequoia Forestkeeper against the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife over the recovery from the 2020 Castle Fire and 2021 Windy Fire. The suit maintains the spotted owl, the Southern Sierra Nevada Fisher and the California Condor are able to survive in the burned areas left by the Castle and Windy wildfires contrary to the position of the management policies which has cleared the way for logging. …The lawsuit also seeks injunctive relief to prohibit further logging in the Giant Sequoia National Monument and that’s what Monday’s hearing was scheduled to be held for.
