The US administration wants to sell public lands, while the White House exempts retardant drops from water rules. In related news: logging projects are moving more quickly in Montana; Washington’s Lands Commissioner is seeking wildfire funding; BC’s Pear Lake fire leaves elevated flood risks; ENGOs critique West Fraser’s Crowsnest Pass plan; Vermont loggers are hurt by diesel prices; the Canadian Climate Institute makes the case for Indigenous-owned carbon offsets; and a biomass district heat plan advances in Chapleau, Ontario. Meanwhile: the US Endowment announced $10.5M million in forest sector investments; and Maine suspended $107K in fines following the deadly Robbins Lumber explosion.
In Business news: Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson and the Truck Loggers Association responded to the Quesnel River Pulp curtailment; Newfoundland’s Sexton Lumber shutdown affects everybody; ThirdGen Timber Group acquired several companies; ND Paper restarted its paper machine in Rumford, Maine; the US Lumber Coalition says Canadian subsidies top $9B; FPAC called for a blueprint to build more homes; Stora Enso will keep its Central European sawmills; and US developers are turning to mass timber. Meanwhile: BCIT highlights its Mass Timber Construction and Industrial Wood Processing certificate programs; while the CIF promotes its Climate Adaptation and Resilience webinar.
Finally, why did US home builders trade masonry for wood framing after WWII?
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
The US government has urged the Court of International Trade to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Canfor Corporation, Canadian Forest Products and Canfor Wood Products Marketing challenging softwood lumber liquidation instructions. According to Trade Law Daily, the government argued in a November 9 motion that the companies failed to exhaust available administrative remedies before filing suit. The case is Canfor Corporation et al. v. United States (CIT #26-03123). [the access the full story a Trade Law Daily subscription is required]
Canada needs to build more homes faster and more affordably. That means building homes of all types and sizes, from apartments to multiplexes and townhomes to detached single-family homes and creating the conditions for Canadian companies and workers to help deliver them. Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and Canadian Wood Council (CWC) have joined the 
The Truck Loggers Association (TLA) is deeply disappointed by the announcement that Millar Western will indefinitely curtail operations at its Quesnel River Pulp mill. This is another significant setback for B.C.’s forest sector and a serious blow to the workers, businesses and communities that depend on a viable forest industry. The decision, which affects approximately 90 employees, is another stark reminder of the mounting pressures facing B.C.’s forestry supply chain. The consequences extend well beyond the mill itself, affecting independent logging contractors, fibre suppliers, transportation companies, local businesses and families throughout the Cariboo region. “Every time another mill closes or curtails operations, the impact ripples throughout the entire forestry supply chain. Logging contractors and the businesses that harvest, transport and supply fibre lose important customers and markets. These are good-paying jobs and established businesses that support communities and contribute significantly to B.C.’s economy,” said Peter Lister, Executive Director of the TLA.
The countdown is on! Join us January 13–15, 2027, at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver as we bring B.C.’s forestry industry together for three days of important conversations, valuable connections and exciting events and special guests! Under this year’s theme, Working Forests. Working BC., the convention will bring together industry leaders, contractors, suppliers, government representatives and forestry professionals to discuss the challenges, opportunities and future of our sector. Your all-inclusive convention pass gives TLA members and non-members access to all convention sessions and events. Individual tickets for Suppliers’ Night, Loggers’ Casino Night and Lunch on the Trade Show Floor are also available for purchase. Don’t Wait – Early Bird Pricing Ends Tomorrow, November 13! Register before the deadline to save $100 on your convention pass. Accommodation at the Westin Bayshore can also be booked through the registration link. We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver!
NEWFOUNDLAND — About 100 Sexton Lumber employees have been laid off following a fire that shut down the Bloomfield sawmill nearly two weeks ago, according to owner Kevin Sexton. The Newfoundland and Labrador Forestry Industry Association announced that the province’s biggest sawmill was shut down until further notice. Sexton hopes repairs will be completed in about three weeks. He said the fire occurred on Oct. 29 in the facility’s boiler room while wood was drying out. A worker was going through his nightly routine when he noticed smoke bellowing out of the exhaust fans. …The forestry industry association said one employee was injured while helping firefighters get to the scene, but is recovering well. An investigation into the fire is underway.
ND Paper has successfully produced its first roll of paper on R12 in its Rumford mill, Maine, bringing an idled machine one step closer to returning to service. “This accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication, skill, and teamwork of employees across the mill. Thank you and congratulations to everyone involved!”, ND Paper says. R12 was idled in 2024 amid challenging market conditions. ND Paper has not yet specified the paper grade produced during the trial. As an integrated pulp and paper facilities, the Rumford division produces a variety of high-quality products in the paper and writing and now packaging markets. …The mill has three paper machines (R10, R12, R15) and about 530 full-time employees. The mill has recently added capabilities to expand into the packaging market such as natural kraft liner and unbleached packaging grades.
VANCOUVER, BC — Conifex Timber reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026. EBITDA was negative $5.7 million for the quarter compared to EBITDA of negative $6.3 million in the second quarter of 2026 and negative EBITDA of $16.6 million in the third quarter of 2025. Net loss was $7.9 million for the quarter versus a net loss of $9.5 million in the previous quarter and a net loss of $16.6 million in the third quarter of 2025. …The Mackenzie Mill remained curtailed throughout the third quarter of 2026 and, as a result, we did not produce any lumber in the quarter, compared to 14.1 million board feet produced in the previous quarter. …As we did not generate electricity in the third quarter of 2026, revenues from our bioenergy operations were nil in the quarter, compared to $2.8 million in the previous quarter.
SAVANNAH, Georgia — Architect Patrick Shay is among the U.S. architects and developers turning to mass timber, a wooden alternative to traditional structural materials such as steel and concrete for large buildings. …He chose it for the Sabal House hotel scheduled to open next month in Savannah’s historic district, as well as for a new public library he designed in another part of town. Mass-timber buildings have been sprouting up across the U.S. Projects started this year will bring to more than 1,500 the number of apartment complexes, hotels, offices and other commercial and public buildings made of mass timber, up from fewer than 100 a decade ago, according to industry group WoodWorks-Wood Products Council. …The US is annually adding about 10 million square feet of mass-timber construction a year, said Bill Parsons, COO of WoodWorks. That is out of a potential market of about 1 billion square feet of domestic construction. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]
Americans have never paid more for a home. The median existing home sold for a record $440,600 in June, according to the National Association of Realtors. Yet the brick house, the kind built to stand for a century, has nearly vanished from new construction. Brick or brick veneer covered just 16.8% of new single-family homes started in 2025, down from almost a quarter in 2012, according to a 
CLINTON, BC — Highways, rail lines and homes around Clinton and the southern Cariboo face elevated risks of flooding and debris flows following the massive Pear Lake wildfire, according to a new provincial assessment. The preliminary Ministry of Forests report identifies several areas with high to very high risk ratings, including portions of Highway 97, Pavilion-Clinton Road, CN railway infrastructure and private properties in watersheds affected by the fire. A more detailed assessment identifying properties that may be at risk is expected in December. The Pear Lake wildfire, B.C.’s largest of 2026, burned nearly 166,000 hectares north of Cache Creek, triggering widespread evacuations across the southern Cariboo and causing extensive damage in the Clinton area. The preliminary Post-Wildfire Natural Hazard Risk Analysis found much of the fire area experienced moderate to high burn severity, increasing the potential for runoff, flooding and debris flows. The f
BELLEVUE, Alberta — Approximately 75 people gathered in Bellevue on Nov. 4 to discuss planned logging around Allison Creek in Crowsnest Pass. …Colin Smith, founder of the Land Lovers Network said the organization is concerned about the effects of forestry activity on water, wildlife, recreation, wildfire resilience and the local economy. …West Fraser’s 2026 planning documents schedule the Allison Creek work for the 2026-27 operating season. The company’s map identifies planned cutblocks, retention areas, roads and a bridge crossing at Allison Creek. …West Fraser commissioned an independent hydrological review of the Allison Creek plan. The company said the review concluded the harvest could proceed while maintaining hydrological values. …Alberta Forestry and Parks previously said the Allison Creek harvest was approved under the current forest management plan. A second Crowsnest Pass meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Polish Hall in Coleman. 
Since its launch in 2018, the Associate Certificate in Industrial Wood Processing (IWP) has grown into a leading workforce development program in the forestry sector. Developed by the School of Construction and the Environment at BCIT in partnership with four leading North American lumber companies, the program was designed to meet a clear industry need: practical, flexible technical training that fits the realities of mill operations. Designed for employees working directly in wood products manufacturing, IWP focuses on the fundamentals that matter on the mill floor: helping new hires, experienced operators, and emerging supervisors build a strong understanding of how sawmills operate and how production decisions impact quality, efficiency, and safety. …The success of IWP led to the launch of a second credential in 2021: the 
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities’ September–October newsletter highlights $5.5 million in grants to five organizations working to expand markets for underutilized wood fibre, alongside a $5 million commitment to CRSilva Ventures, a new forest-sector venture capital fund. Additional announcements include $500,000 awarded to develop forest management technology tools and a funding opportunity supporting regional implementation of the Markets Matter Action Plan. The Endowment also launched a Markets Matter progress scorecard and announced the beta release of its Forestry Analytics for Carbon Tracking (FACT) data platform. Other highlights include new online resources connecting landowners with emerging forest markets, and an article by Endowment President Pete Madden advocating greater investment in wildfire prevention through forest management. The newsletter also features Wisconsin Forest Products Week and Beyond the Harvest, a film exploring forest management, wood innovation and opportunities for underutilized fibre.
The wildfire season in Washington state is officially over. In 2026, “more than 1,500 fires ignited and nearly 1 million acres burned across the state,” Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove said Tuesday. Earlier this year, the Legislature fulfilled a 2021 commitment to put $60 million into wildfire prevention and forest health, using revenue from the Climate Commitment Act. Upthegrove is asking them to fund it again next year, amid a budget shortfall. “Public safety is a core basic function of government, even in tough fiscal times,” he said. “Without that funding, we are likely to see more fires … and more risks to life and property.” The department uses about half the funding to prepare for the season. That includes training personnel, buying equipment and supplies, Upthegrove said. About $15 million is used for forest health work such as thinning trees and prescribed fire. Another $15 million helps communities develop wildfire defense plans and carry out fuels reduction work, he added. 
Flathead National Forest announced the Big Mountain Fuels Reduction Project on Feb. 20. Two months later, machinery was rolling, and timber was being harvested from the slopes at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Now, the project is nearly wrapped up… A two-week public comment period was provided ahead of the 200-acre project, intended to protect the ski resort’s infrastructure from wildfire risk. Deemed by forest officials to not have significant environmental effects and seen as addressing a high-risk area, the project was categorically exempt and authorized as an emergency. It represents just one of many local timber projects that are moving forward more quickly and with a narrower opportunity for public scrutiny following policy changes at the federal level. Locally, foresters say the new rules are generally proving to be more efficient, while conservationists express concern over environmental effects and a rushed public participation process. 
A logger in Vermont recently summed up the industry’s mood to our organization in a single sentence: “I would not encourage my son to get into logging.” That sentiment is becoming increasingly common in the state as diesel costs soar, mills close and operating expenses continue to climb. In late September, diesel fuel surged past $6.50 a gallon nationally, with prices in the Northeast averaging higher in many areas. That increase represents roughly a $3-per-gallon hike compared with January. Multiply that $3 increase by the thousands of gallons of diesel used every month by most logging and forest trucking companies, and it becomes clear why rising diesel costs are unsustainable for an industry that … cannot pass those costs on to consumers. Wood prices are not set by loggers, but by those they work for or sell wood to. …Loggers need relief from high diesel prices soon, because too many in this vital but overlooked industry are running on fumes.
Representatives of the forestry industry have called for a return to conifer planting as part of the next national forestry programme. Forest Industries Ireland (FII) met with Minister of State for forestry Niall Collins to discuss the “urgent need to support Ireland’s forestry and timber sectors”. The group called on the minister to “redouble efforts” on afforestation. FII called for a renewed strategic focus on the commercial timber business, warning that current low levels of afforestation must “at least triple” to sustain the industry’s sawlog supply into the future. According to the industry body, the Irish forestry and timber sector “has become a major domestic business success story”. The sector is worth over €2 billion to the Irish economy, and accounts for over 10,000 jobs, FII said. Irish sawmills process over 1.4 million cubic metres of timber products annually, resulting in €200 million in sawn softwood exports and over €300 million in wood panel product exports.
For years now, Indigenous nations in Canada have participated directly in carbon markets through 
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Department of Labor has cited six fire departments for lacking an effective system to track firefighters at the scene of the deadly May fire and explosion at Robbins Lumber in Searsmont. The department also cited four of those fire departments, Searsmont, Morrill, Montville, and Belmont, as well as Searsmont Rescue over personal protective equipment protocols. Morrill was cited for 11 items in all. The findings follow workplace safety investigations involving the Searsmont, Morrill, Montville, Belmont, Appleton and Lincolnville fire departments, as well as Searsmont Rescue. …The labor department is suspending nearly all of the $108,000 in penalties it issued. Montville must pay $1,000 because of a record of one repeat fit-testing violation. “We believe that it is more important for these towns and departments to allocate their resources toward the improvement efforts than it is to pay a civil penalty,” Burkhart said.