Prime Minister Carney welcomes EU ties, and FPAC’s Derek Nighbor urges both to address existing trade barriers. In related news: President Trump pans the EU proposal, while the US Council on Foreign Relations says economic integration is dead. In other Business news: Ron Anderson & Sons breaks ground on Chemainus expansion; JD Irving to expand its Maine sawmill; Port Townsend Paper is fined; and Canfor’s pulp mill closure impacts Excel Transportation. Meanwhile: West Fraser declared a dividend; and US interest rates rose, housing starts dropped, and builder sentiment fell.
In Forestry news: The Tyee questions BC’s proposed land zoning pilot; the Watershed Sentinel challenges Murray Wilson’s BC is Burning film; the Adams Lake Indian Band opposes logging near Armstrong; US firefighters sound alarm on wildfire preparedness; and a taxpayer group questions the costs of repealing the Roadless Rule. Meanwhile: Western Forest Products helps launch forestry careers; the latest news from UBC Forestry; and CELCO Conference 2026 highlights global supply chain speaker.
Finally, Chuck Leavell, Rolling Stones keyboardist, brings Tree Man documentary to the stage.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
Canadian Prime Minister Carney welcomed the European Union’s ambition to make Ottawa an associate member and said Canadian lawmakers would ultimately vote on the final structure of the alliance. …Carney did not name President Trump in his speech, but he nodded to his US counterpart’s use of tariffs by saying, “Economic integration is now being weaponized — tariffs being used to exert pressure.” …His comments come shortly after Trump described the prospect of Canada becoming the first associate member of the EU as “laughable” and threatened the bloc with tariffs if he deemed the move to be a “hostile act.” …European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the 27-nation bloc wanted to bring the relationship with Canada “to the highest level possible.” …Associate membership doesn’t currently exist as a formal category under EU treaties, and any such arrangement would need to be created and ratified by member states.
WAHSINGTON — I read a poll earlier this month showing that 41% of Canadians see the US as “an enemy country.” The poll was conducted right after President Trump slapped 50% tariffs on $27.6 billion of Canadian exports to the US. …I have no illusions that U.S.-Canada relations were idyllic before Trump took office. …But the recent turn in US-Canada relations feels different. Canada’s willingness to antagonize its far larger trading partner signals how much Canadians now fear that their economic integration with the United States was a major strategic mistake. Can the economic relationship between the two countries be repaired? …A conversation with Rohinton Medhora at McGill University… left me with three take aways. 1. Canadians are feeling frustration, anger, and trepidation. …2. Carney sees no political or strategic alternative to retaliating against the Trump tariffs. …3. Washington and Ottawa may find an off-ramp, but Canada will continue to reduce its vulnerability to US economic pressure.
PRINCE GEORGE — A long-standing Prince George transportation company is preparing for a major downsizing after losing a key forestry hauling contract in the wake of Canfor’s Northwood Pulp Mill closure. Excel Transportation announced it will no longer serve as a hauling contractor for Canfor, a decision the company says stems from the ongoing downturn in northern B.C.’s forestry sector rather than any concerns about performance or safety. “This is one of the most difficult announcements we’ve had to make in our company’s history,” said CEO Annie Horning in a statement. The closure of the Northwood mill earlier this year eliminated roughly 300 Canfor jobs and significantly reduced the amount of wood being moved throughout the region. With less timber available to haul, Canfor reduced the number of hauling contracts it requires and ultimately chose not to retain Excel.
From capacity shifts and trade flow developments to network disruptions and sustainability innovations, the container shipping landscape continues to evolve at pace. Join Patrick Hore, Global Head of Energy, Chemicals & Raw Materials at Maersk, as he delivers an essential market update on the forces currently shaping global supply chains. In his session, “Latest from the Container Shipping Market: What Do You Need to Know for Your Supply Chains?“, Patrick will explore: Volume trends across key global trade routes; Fleet capacity outlook and what it means for shippers; Current network disruptions and future scenarios; and Technical and sustainability developments transforming container shipping. Whether you’re responsible for sourcing, logistics, operations or strategy, this session will provide valuable insights to help you navigate an increasingly complex shipping environment. Join Patrick Hore and an outstanding line-up of industry experts at the CELCO Conference. 
Annie Dillard, author of the Pulitzer prize-winning book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, died aged 81 at her home in South Wellfleet, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. Maggie Nelson, Dillard’s literary editor, confirmed her death to the New York Times. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, a nonfiction narrative Dillard wrote about the natural world surrounding her mountainous Virginia home, was published in 1974 when the young writer was just 28. The book was an instant critical and financial success, skyrocketing Dillard to becoming one of the most prominent nonfiction writers of her generation. Tinker Creek won the 1975 Pulitzer prize for general nonfiction, and in 1998 it was included in Modern Library’s list of 100 best nonfiction books. …Her work was often compared to Henry David Thoreau, the naturalist about whom she wrote her master’s thesis. [Tree Frog Editor Sandy McKellar adds – Dr. Bart van der Kamp assigned this book as required reading for his UBC Forestry 100 class!]
VANCOUVER, BC — West Fraser Timber announced that it has entered into a new $500 million three-year term loan, partial proceeds of which will be used to retire its existing $300 million term loan due in 2028. The new term loan matures in September 2029. The Company’s $1 billion syndicated credit facility remains outstanding on existing terms and has approximately four years remaining to its May 2030 maturity. …”Entering into a new $500 million term loan strengthens our near-term liquidity position and provides additional financial flexibility,” said Sean McLaren, President and CEO, West Fraser. …The Company has also declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.32 per share on the Common shares and Class B Common shares in the capital of the Company, payable on October 19, 2026 to shareholders of record on September 29, 2026.
WASHINGTON — US single-family homebuilding increased in August, but a drop in permits for future construction suggested the improvement was likely temporary as rising inflation because of the war in the Middle East boosts mortgage rates. Single-family housing starts, which account for the bulk of homebuilding, jumped 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 918,000 units last month, the Census Bureau said. They rose 5.2% on a year-over-year basis in August. Single-family building permits fell 1.8% to a rate of 878,000 units in August. They increased 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Mortgage rates have surged, tracking longer-term US Treasury yields as the US-Israeli war with Iran drove oil prices above $100 a barrel. Bond yields have also risen. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note is hovering around 5.0%. …The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.76% last week, the highest level in more than a year.
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As the provincial government advances plans to carve British Columbia’s lands into zones where logging and other industrial activities are permitted or barred, a former longtime public servant says he is struggling to not be cynical about what could lie ahead. In August, The Tyee broke the news that the provincial ministries of Forests and Water, Land and Resource Stewardship were proposing to divide B.C.’s vast and spectacularly diverse lands into “working forest,” “multiple-use” and “conservation and protection” zones. The details were included in a leaked internal government email. The zoning exercise is happening as Premier David Eby tells Forests Minister Ravi Parmar to find more trees for companies to log in order to meet a logging target of 45 million cubic metres per year. Forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon, who worked in the Forests Ministry for 30 years, said he worries that the “Path to 45” initiative will drive the zoning plan. 
As wildfires raged this summer, I turned to the documentary film 
PENNSYLVANIA — For more than two decades, our national forests have been governed by the Roadless Rule and its full repeal carries significant consequences for American taxpayers. A closer read of USFS’ own analysis of the proposed rule’s impacts reveals that full repeal would increase taxpayer costs and liabilities through increased road subsidies, revenue losses from timber sales, and increased wildfire risks. While the USFS stated the goals to reduce regulatory burden, increase resource production, and increase local management flexibility to allow for active management where necessary in response to increasing wildfire risk, a full repeal may have the opposite impact. …Targeted improvements to the Roadless Rule make sense. Blindly instituting full repeal would expose taxpayers to billions in subsidized road construction and maintenance, exacerbate taxpayer losses from money-losing timber sales, potentially increase wildfire risks, and weaken the health of roadless areas that provide important commercial and recreational benefits.
Scientists have identified a previously unknown frog species living in the seasonally flooded forests of the western Amazon. Named Adenomera varcena, the species adds to growing evidence that Amazonian biodiversity is even richer than it appears. The discovery also highlights the importance of cryptic diversity, in which animals that look nearly identical can actually belong to separate species. Researchers distinguished the new frog by combining several lines of evidence, including its DNA and distinctive call. The discovery grew out of field expeditions in the Upper Juruá River region of western Acre. Scientists surveyed forest fragments near the Moa and Crôa rivers, close to Cruzeiro do Sul. Confirming that the frog represented a new species required far more than simply examining its appearance. The team compared DNA data, recordings of its calls, body shape (morphology), habitat information, and specimens preserved in scientific collections.