The UN’s 2026 edition of State of the World’s Forests calls for global action, as the threats to forests mount and the window for restoration narrows. In related news: IKEA looks to climate-smart forestry amid growing pressures; the BC Forest Professional magazine examines post-harvest burning; Utah reports its worst wildfire season since 2007; and the future of the US Roadless Rule remains under debate. Meanwhile: the 2026 Catherine Lalonde Memorial Scholarships are open for submissions; and a 1,289-year-old whitebark pine is the oldest on record.
In Business news: US-China agreement includes more hardwood lumber trade; Trump’s ban on $1B of Canadian imports takes effect; Canada appeals a US softwood lumber ruling; AV Nackawic workers prepare for the mill’s temporary closure; a work dies at Canfor’s Axis, Alabama mill; and paper manufacturing is returning to Chillicothe, Ohio. Meanwhile: BC’s export troubles began before the recent US tariffs; and Do it Best backs FEA’s PricePulse as an alternative to Random Lengths.
Finally, tomorrow marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. The Frogs will be honouring its significance, and will return Thursday.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
President Trump’s ban on nearly $1 billion worth of Canadian goods went into effect Tuesday, marking the latest salvo in a trade war between the U.S. and its longtime ally to the north. The restrictions include Canadian dairy products, motor vehicles and many alcoholic beverages. Trump, in signing the executive orders to ban the goods, cited Canadian “discrimination” against the American equivalents. Jacob Jensen, as the American Action Forum, said the limits cover $967 million worth of Canadian imports, based on 2025 data. The president last month slapped 50 percent tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian products, levies that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government matched “dollar for dollar. …Carney, meanwhile, has used the trade dispute with Trump to shift his country’s cooperative focus elsewhere. 
Plaintiffs led by the Canadian government will appeal the Court of International Trade’s July 27 ruling that upheld the Commerce Department’s use of a differential pricing analysis to detect masked dumping in a case challenging the 2021 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on Canadian softwood lumber, according to a Sept. 23 
The US and China reached new trade and investment arrangements during President Xi Jinping’s September 2026 state visit to Washington, including the relaxation of tariffs affecting lumber and other wood products exported from the US to China. …According to a September 25, 2026 
Much of the current discussion about BC exports understandably focuses on tariffs and the evolving trade relationship with the US. …A complete picture of what the province sells to earn its way in the world must include services. They generate roughly 40% of the province’s international export earnings. …The shift toward services has been underway for decades, supported by steady growth in gateway transportation and the rapid expansion in technology and professional services. …BC’s export mix has become more diversified partly because services have performed well, but also because merchandise exports have struggled. …The largest contributor to the decline in BC’s real merchandise exports is softwood lumber and other forestry-related exports, which have plunged since 2017. That decline reflects a shrinking timber harvest mainly attributable to provincial policy changes, a dwindling fibre supply, rising costs and other pressures that have reduced the competitiveness of the B.C. forest sector.
Officially known as “inventoried roadless areas,” roadless areas are protected under a federal rule enacted 25 years ago that generally prohibits logging and road-building. In Montana they cover about one-third of the state’s 17 million acres of public land administered by the U.S. Forest Service. …The original intent of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, in part, was to curb the spread of roads and development into the agency’s wildest landscapes. It was also a recognition that the Forest Service’s sprawling road network — today comprising 368,000 miles — was already beyond its capacity to maintain. …President Donald Trump’s administration announced last summer it would move to rescind that roadless rule, effectively returning those lands to the land-use designations established by each individual national forest. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service, released a 
In an interview with The Ethical Corporation, Inter-IKEA Group’s global head of forestry Mikhail Tarasov pointed to biodiversity loss as one of the biggest threats to the world’s forests. Competition for forest resources and accelerating climate change, which is driving wildfires and the spread of pests and disease, add to the challenge for IKEA. The company, which processed 14.7 million cubic metres of round wood for its products last year, is one of the world’s largest consumers of timber, most of it sourced from Europe. That figure, however, represents a 30% reduction in its consumption since 2019, in part by recycling and reusing wood in its products. IKEA is working to promote better forest management so that decisions on the harvesting of trees take account of local conditions, and combine management with protection and regeneration. The different IKEA entities own over 500,000 hectares of forest. Tarasov’s group is piloting “climate smart” forestry on 16,000 hectares in Latvia.
The global fiber industry is navigating a challenging market environment, shaped by changing demand, competitive pressures and the need to continually adapt. How can producers strengthen their competitive position — and where will future growth come from? At CELCO 2026, Christian Skilich, Chief Pulp & Chief Technology Officer at Lenzing Group, will share Lenzing’s perspective on the evolution of the fiber market, the importance of innovation in maintaining competitiveness, and the company’s strategy for future growth. In his presentation on Competitiveness, Innovation & the Future of Fiber, Christian will examine the close relationship between competitiveness and innovation, offering attendees a practical look at how one of the industry’s major producers is positioning itself for the next phase of the market. He will explore how the fiber market has developed in recent years, why innovation is critical in responding to today’s challenging market environment and Lenzing’s new strategy and its priorities for the years ahead. 