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The Tree Frog Forestry News
September 15, 2026
Category: Today's Takeaway
Hello early bird! We just want you to know that the news team is busy adding stories to this page. Be sure to check back at 9:00 am (PST) for the full line up of articles.
Carney courts European leaders for ‘unique’ EU alliance as U.S. tariffs hit $20B in Canadian goods
By Romana King
Money.ca
September 15, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, International
Mark Carney
In the cooling embers of failing trade talks with U.S. President Trump, Prime Minister Carney is looking for greener pastures — and he may have found a good spot: Europe. According to Reuters, Carney has been meeting European leaders for months — quietly pursuing an alternative: A push for Canada to become a “unique member” of the European Union. …To be clear, what Carney is pursuing is a not-yet-created “unique member” nation-status of the European Union (EU) — a status that would have to be built from scratch. …Carney’s focus isn’t about lowering prices today or tomorrow, but improving Canada’s economic position for the long-term. Carney’s discussion with EU leaders will not mitigate the immediate financial pressure coming from the current US trade war.
US Lumber Dealers (NLBMDA) appeals for trade stability
Hardware + Building Supply Dealer
September 14, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States
As Congress returns to Washington, the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) is urging congressional leaders and the Administration to address growing cost and supply pressures stemming from recently implemented Section 338 tariffs on Canadian building materials. In a letter sent Monday to Mike Johnson, Hakeem Jeffries, John Thune and Chuck Schumer, NLBMDA urged for targeted relief for essential building materials where domestic production is insufficient to meet US demand. NLBMDA also called for greater stability and predictability in the US-Canada trade relationship, citing the highly integrated nature of the North American building materials supply chain. …In a recent member survey, 80% of respondents reported sourcing or availability impacts, while nearly 87% reported higher supplier prices. Dealers also cited reduced shipments from Canadian suppliers, longer lead times and difficulty identifying domestic alternatives that can readily meet demand. …NLBMDA also highlighted the broader uncertainty created by sudden changes in tariff policy.
Kootenays, B.C. – Forestry Works for BC (FWFBC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Maria McFaddin as Executive Director, effective September 2026. McFaddin will lead the grassroots nonprofit into its next phase of growth, with a focus on building relationships and partnerships across the province, and strengthening public understanding of responsible forestry in British Columbia. McFaddin brings more than a decade of leadership experience in British Columbia, including four years as Mayor of Castlegar and four years on Castlegar City Council. A Kootenay native who grew up surrounded by forests, she has been a visible advocate for responsible forestry and its connection to wildfire resilience, housing, jobs and strong, sustainable communities. …“Maria brings exactly the kind of leadership we need for the next stage of Forestry Works for BC,” said Ken Kalesnikoff, Chair of the Forestry Works for BC Board of Directors. …McFaddin succeeds retiring Steve Kozuki, who led FWFBC since January 2025.
Get It Done B.C. 2026: live from the Vancouver Club
By Angela Wrigley
Resource Works
September 14, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West
On the eve of UBCM, GET IT DONE B.C. returns for its second year—one day in Vancouver bringing together mayors, ministers, First Nations leaders, and the CEOs building the province’s energy, mining, and forestry future, around a single question: how do we build the province that works for everyone? …Forestry is a Solution: Fifteen forestry associations, including organized labour, wrote to Premier Eby last week saying: “BC’s forest sector is at a breaking point.” Moderator Cam McAlpine, Principal at Pendulum, opened on how it got there. Kim Haakstad, CEO of BC Council of Forest Industries, said blaming the U.S. trade dispute oversimplifies it. B.C. has gone from the most affordable jurisdiction in the country to do forestry to the highest-cost in North America. Peter Lister, CEO of the Truck Loggers Association, said the cost of obtaining a cutting permit has risen from $4 to $14 a cubic metre, the product of more than 50 changes to legislation and policy.
Some interesting motions brought forward at this year’s Union of B.C. Municipalities conference
By David Carrigg
Victoria Times Colonist
September 13, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West
Indigenous land titles, data centres and human-bear conflicts are among the top-of-mind concerns for municipal politicians, as they gather for their annual fall convention and attempt to influence the provincial government’s agenda. The Union of B.C. Municipalities convention this year is being held in Vancouver from Sept. 14 to 18. … The City of Nanaimo is calling for a ban on exporting raw logs and lumber cants. A cant is a raw log with its bark removed. The motion identifies a lack of adequate and affordable wood fibre supply as a key factor in the continued curtailment or permanent closure of B.C. sawmills and pulp mills. Over the past five years, on average, about 3.2 million cubic metres of raw logs have been exported. The ban would be to “ensure that forests harvested in B.C. from Crown land and private managed forest lands are processed in B.C., encouraging value-added manufacturing in B.C. and supporting employment in B.C.’s forest industry,” the motion states.
First barge carrying major Project NextGen components arrives at Irving Pulp & Paper
Tissue Online
September 14, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada East
Irving Pulp & Paper has reached a new milestone in Project NextGen, with the first barge carrying major components for the initiative successfully navigating Saint John’s Reversing Falls en route to the company’s westside mill. The shipment marks an important step in the US$1.5 billion project, which includes the construction of a new recovery boiler to replace the mill’s existing unit, installed in the 1970s. The new equipment is expected to increase production by approximately 66 per cent while expanding the mill’s green energy capacity. The barge’s passage through the Reversing Falls required the coordination of marine crews, equipment operators and teams responsible for planning and logistics. The operation was carried out as part of the delivery of the large-scale components required for the project. According to Irving Pulp & Paper, Project NextGen represents the largest investment in the Canadian forest products industry since 1993.
The American South Is Building Sawmills Faster Than It Can Fill Them
By Jason Ross
Wood Central Australia
September 14, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States
American sawmilling is adding capacity faster than it is using it, with 2.1 billion board feet due in the South by 2028, net of every closure already announced. That is according to Forisk, the forest industry consultancy, which tracks more than 2,350 North American mills and logged fifteen sawmill projects in the third quarter alone. “We searched for a buyer… for our mill in Montrose, Colorado,” president Jim Neiman said. Twain Lumber met the opposite condition in Virginia, buying a mill that had been idle since 2024. Twelve of the fifteen projects added capacity, and the three that took it out were all Canadian, with Canfor closing Fox Creek in Alberta for good and Western Forest Products holding Cowichan Bay in British Columbia down since May. Canadian producers have worked both sides of that trade for a decade, and West Fraser shut down 100 Mile House in British Columbia last year while expanding its Henderson facility in Texas.
Kimberly-Clark prepares asset sales to win EU nod for Kenvue deal, sources say
By Foo Yun Chee
Reuters
September 14, 2026
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International
BRUSSELS — Kimberly-Clark is preparing concessions to address EU antitrust concerns about its bid for Tylenol maker Kenvue that could help it win approval for the $40 billion deal after a preliminary review. Kimberly-Clark shares rose more than 2.7% on the news in early trading while Kenvue gained 2.3%. The maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers announced the deal in November last year that would add Kenvue’s vast portfolio of brands. …The European Commission is set to formally inform Kimberly-Clark of its concerns this week, the people said. This would determine whether the company submits concessions by September 29, or waits until it opens a full-scale four-month-long investigation after its preliminary assessment. …The deal was cleared in Australia last week on condition Kimberly-Clark divests Kenvue’s Carefree and Stayfree period care brands . It secured conditional approval in South Africa last month.
Consumer inflation held steady at 3% last month compared to a year earlier as higher rent and travel costs offset a slowdown in rising prices for gas and groceries. Statistics Canada says the annual rate of inflation was unchanged from July. The agency says gasoline costs continued to increase in August but at a slower pace, as the conflict in the Middle East continued to weigh on prices. Excluding gasoline, consumer prices rose 2.4% last month compared to a year earlier, up from 2.2% in July. …“Headline inflation remained elevated in August, but core measures continued to show only limited evidence that high energy prices are spilling over into wider inflationary pressure,” said CIBC economist Andrew Grantham. …“With the economic outlook clouded by U.S. tariffs and related uncertainty we think that the Bank of Canada should, and will, keep interest rates on hold in October meeting”.
Building a Lower-Carbon Future Starts at the Source
By Annie Perkins, Senior Director
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
September 14, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, United States
The building sector is at a pivotal moment. As designers, developers, manufacturers, and policymakers work toward ambitious climate goals, attention is increasingly turning to the materials that make up our buildings and the supply chains behind them. The built environment is responsible for almost 40% of global carbon emissions when both operational and embodied carbon are considered. While the sector has made significant progress in reducing operational carbon through energy efficiency and improved building performance, embodied carbon has emerged as one of the next major frontiers in climate action. The decisions we make about materials today will have lasting impacts for decades to come. That is why the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is pleased to continue strengthening our relationship with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and supporting the evolution of LEED as a leading framework for sustainable building. …The path to lower-carbon buildings starts with better decisions across the entire supply chain.
Testing what works: Thompson Rivers University burn unit aims to raise the bar on fire-resilient housing
Thompson Rivers University
September 10, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West
As wildfire seasons grow longer and more intense in B.C., Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is launching a research project to find out how homes can be built to better withstand fire. Backed by a BC Hydro grant focused on enhancing Sustainable Construction Training for more efficient buildings through summer 2027, the new burn unit will expose real-world exterior materials — such as siding, flashing and sealants — to extreme heat. The results will help TRU integrate clear, practical, research-informed lessons for carpentry and other trades students who will be building homes in the years ahead. Amie Schellenberg, co-chair of the School of Trades and Technology at TRU, said the project makes sense given TRU’s dual-sector research university mandate and a push toward sustainable, climate-ready construction. By turning wildfire risk into real-world, use-inspired research and teaching, TRU hopes to support safer building choices for homeowners and communities across B.C.
Doors Open: Trinity College’s Lawson Centre for Sustainability Officially Opens to the Community
Trinity College, University of Toronto
September 14, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada East
At the Lawson Centre for Sustainability Welcome Celebration, Trinity College marked the official public opening of its state-of-the-art mass timber, zero carbon and targeting LEED platinum residence and academic building. …Creating a new model in which students both ‘live and learn’ sustainability, the Lawson Centre for Sustainability sets a new standard for sustainable design and architecture at the University of Toronto. …What makes the Lawson Centre for Sustainability truly unique is that it features all the major sustainability components in one facility, including hybrid mass timber, a geothermal exchange system, cistern for rainwater collection and reuse, and a rooftop farm. …The Lawson Centre for Sustainability has already received international awards for sustainable design: 2026 World Architecture News Awards–Silver in Future Projects, Education; 2025 Holcim Foundation Award for Sustainable Design North America Regional Winner; and named by ArchDaily as one of the world’s 20 most anticipated projects for 2026.
Clemson University dedicates state-of-the-art Forestry and Environmental Conservation building
Ny Shaw Hipsher and Carly Copeland
Clemson University News
September 14, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: US East
Clemson University is proud to announce the dedication of its newest innovative campus facility, the Forestry and Environmental Conservation (FEC) building. Positioned at Clemson’s southern entrance at the intersection of Cherry Road and Perimeter Road, the four-story, 85,000-square-foot mass timber facility blends cutting-edge science with elegant, sustainable design. First envisioned back in 2018, the culmination of this building project marks a historic milestone for sustainable architecture in the Southeast. …The building utilizes cross-laminated timber (CLT) made from regional Southern Yellow Pine. The wood used in the facility’s 62,000 square feet of CLT components was donated by Norfolk Southern and harvested from their Brosnan Forest in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
Material Memory: Designing with the Carbon Already Embodied in Existing Buildings
By Mahshid Motamed
Parametric Architecture
September 13, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International
For decades, architectural sustainability was dominated by operational performance. Better insulation, efficient mechanical systems, photovoltaic panels, passive solar strategies, and high-performance envelopes became the principal instruments for reducing environmental impact. Those measures remain important, but they no longer describe the entire carbon problem. A building can perform efficiently in operation while carrying an enormous historical carbon burden embedded in its concrete frame, steel reinforcement, glass, aluminum, masonry, finishes, foundations, and infrastructure. Once these materials have been manufactured, transported, assembled, and incorporated into a structure, their associated emissions cannot simply be erased by installing efficient equipment. This is where the concept of material memory becomes architecturally significant. Existing buildings contain not only physical material but also the emissions already invested in producing that material. Retaining a structural frame therefore represents more than preservation. It can function as a form of carbon avoidance.
Varkaus mill gives recycled fibres up to seven lives
By Markku Björkman
PulpPaperNews.com
September 15, 2026
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International
At Stora Enso’s mill in Varkaus, Finland, recovered cardboard packaging is converted into new fibre raw material. The same fibre can be recycled up to 7 times before it becomes too short and weak for further use. The site contains Finland’s largest recycled-fibre processing facility. Covering approximately 3 hectares, it receives used packaging from households, retailers and packaging manufacturers. More than 95 per cent of paperboard and cardboard packaging is recycled in Finland. However, domestic collections do not provide enough material for the mill, which also imports recovered packaging from Sweden and the Baltic countries. Approximately 20 truckloads of recovered material arrive at the site each day. The compressed bales contain products such as milk cartons, pizza boxes and cereal packages.
First candidate area announced for Working Forest Landscape Model
By Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
September 15, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
The Province, in partnership with Na̲nwak̲olas Council, has identified the first candidate area to explore a proposed three-zone forest management model in B.C. The B.C. government is working closely with First Nations, along with industry, local governments and interested parties to identify other candidate areas. Candidate areas will be used to explore a three-zone model for public forests that supports a more co-ordinated approach to land use, stewardship and economic priorities that integrate with ongoing planning processes. The intended outcome is to demonstrate how this model can improve predictability for industry, workers, First Nations, local communities and conservation interests
BC Community Forest Association 2026 Indicators Report: Measuring the Benefits of Community Forestry
The BC Community Forest Association
September 15, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
The BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA) has released its 2026 Community Forest Indicators Report: Measuring the Benefits of Community Forestry, highlighting the economic, environmental, social, and cultural benefits generated through community forestry. “British Columbia currently has 62 Community Forest Agreements issued by the provincial government, with more than 100 First Nations and rural communities involved,” shared Jennifer Gunter, Executive Director of the BCCFA. “This year’s Indicators Report draws on data from 37 of our member community forests, which represent 77% of our operating members.” The report shows that community forest participants generated more than $129 million in economic activity in the reporting year and made significant cash and in-kind contributions to support local priorities. A total of 1,833 people earned all or part of their income through community forest activities. Relative to the amount of timber harvested, these community forests generated approximately 74% more forestry, logging, and support services than the industry average.
Fuel treatment projects begin on municipal land parcels in Rossland this week
Castanet
September 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
As part of the City of Rossland FireSmart program, contractors will complete FireSmart fuel treatment projects on municipal land parcels within the community beginning this week. The objective of the fuel management project is to reduce hazardous forest fuels and to decrease wildfire risk to the adjacent residents and the community, noted a release from the city. “The goal for the project is to reduce hazardous surface fuel accumulations close to homes and the community,” it stated. Expected activities include: Reduction of woody surface fuels from tree mortality and winter storm damage; Removal of dead standing trees; Retention of the healthy, large trees to maintain a cool and moist under storey; Retention and protection of all healthy, deciduous trees and shrubs (leaves have a high moisture content and are low flammability); Retention and protection of high value wildlife trees; and Debris disposal (chipping).
Community forests expanding in McLeod Lake/Mackenzie, north Island
By Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
September 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West
Communities in McLeod Lake and Mackenzie, and on northern Vancouver Island, will have greater opportunities to manage local forests, support wildfire resilience and strengthen local forestry economies through expansions of two community forests. “Rural communities understand forestry, both as an economic driver and as a tool to reduce wildfire risk,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “Driven by powerful partnerships, these expansions will mean real benefits for their communities in the form of local logs for local manufacturing, jobs on the land base and healthier, more resilient forests.” These expansion decisions will result in a total of 20,000 cubic metres allocated to the McLeod Lake Mackenzie community forest, and more than 8,100 cubic metres to the North Island Community Forest. The expansions will provide more opportunities for local forest management, including wildfire risk reduction, while helping ensure a sustainable fibre supply for local facilities and users.
NZ Super Fund expands U.S. timberland mandate with Domain Timber Advisors to US$200 million
By Domain Timber Advisors
Business Wire
September 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, International
ATLANTA — Domain Timber Advisors announced the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, manager of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, has made an additional US$50 million commitment to its value-added US timberland separately managed account with DTA. …The organizations established the mandate in 2023 through NZ Super Fund’s initial US$150 million commitment. DTA has since fully deployed that capital across a diversified portfolio of US timberland investments. The additional capital will give DTA greater flexibility to pursue acquisitions that complement the existing holdings and capitalize on value-creation opportunities across existing and future investments. …DTA’s value-added strategy focuses on sourcing non-industrial, fragmented or undermanaged timberland where active management can create economic and environmental value. The approach combines disciplined forestry, certification and stewardship, property improvements, aggregation, and selective land-use opportunities to improve individual assets and assemble institutional-quality portfolios.
Over 40 years of wildfire-ignition data across 11 western U.S. states showed that national forest areas classified as “roadless” didn’t burn more than national forest land with roads, further fueling discussion around the Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ intent to repeal the 2001 “Roadless Rule.” Rollins has stated that the nation’s protected forests need to be opened to new road construction, development and logging in order to reduce the risk of wildfires. Rollins has also labeled the rule as an “absurd obstacle to properly managing our forests.” Researchers out of Oregon State University explicitly cited the USDA’s wildfire-based claims for repealing the 2021 Roadless Rule as the reason behind why they analyzed four decades of fire research. …Their study compiled fire severity and extent data to evaluate fire patterns across developed lands, inventoried roadless areas, and wilderness.
What Teddy Roosevelt Knew and Trump Doesn’t Get: Public Lands Need Science
By Julian Reyes, Chief of Staff
Union of Concerned Scientists
September 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States
US Forest Service founders Gifford Pinchot and President Teddy Roosevelt would be rolling in their graves knowing what has become of the world’s largest wildland fire research organization. …The Trump administration continues to take a chainsaw to forestry research, federal land management agencies, and the scientific workforce that supports effective decision making. Science is the foundation for responsible public lands management and effective conservation. While people recognize attacks on public lands when they see mining or development, fewer see the attacks on the science and scientific workforce that help manage these lands. The Union of Concerned Scientists (USC) has been documenting the second Trump administration’s attacks on science, which are inextricably linked with its attacks on public lands. [Including] 43 that directly affect the US Department of the Interior, which oversees nearly 250 million acres of public lands … as well as the US Forest Service.
Scientists using TROPOMI saw Western US forest fluorescence fade two years before bark-beetle mortality showed in aerial surveys
By the Editorial Team
Silicon Canals
September 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West
UNIVERSITY of UTAH — A satellite instrument built to track air pollution has turned out to be a useful early-warning sensor for dying forests. In work covered on 13 September 2026 by Scienmag and published earlier that month by the University of Utah, a Utah-led team reported that solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence measured by TROPOMI — the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument aboard Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel-5P — faded in Western U.S. conifer stands roughly two years before USDA Forest Service aerial detection surveys logged bark-beetle mortality in the same places. The study, led by Lewis Kunik and published in Remote Sensing of Environment, is not a forecasting product and does not claim to name the trees that will die. What it does claim is narrower and, for land managers, still consequential: at landscape scale, a physiological signal invisible to the eye and largely invisible to conventional greenness indices shifted first, and it shifted in a way that drought conditions alone did not account for.
Wildfire strategy doesn’t need a winner – with 3 camps fighting for dominance, the system can’t keep up with the risk
By Tony Cheng and Matt Thompson, Colorado State University
The Conversation
September 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US West
One of the problems with how America deals with wildfires is thinking there is one primary strategy that can end the nation’s wildfire crisis. Whether that’s detecting and putting out every fire fast, increasing logging and forest thinning, or allowing fires to burn under safe conditions, the default choice today is to pour more money and effort into the star approach of the moment. But effective wildfire strategy in the face of worsening fire seasons demands a system of actions – interconnected pieces that reinforce one another. Right now, those pieces mostly are not connected. Research groups, governments and organizations tend to separate into distinct camps, each promoting its own specific strategy. The result is a system that can’t keep up with the rising fire risk. …We have seen the pitfalls of current fire management approaches and also examples of what actually works.
‘Looking at the forest as a crop’: Trump admin’s logging rule would expose Shawnee Forest
By Kate McCann
Capitol News Illinois
September 14, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US East
GOLCONDA — In a remote corner of the Shawnee National Forest, along the Ohio River’s northeastern banks, 73-year-old Mark Donham peered up at the handful of remaining trees in the newly sun-filled forest canopy. Two enormous piles of freshly cut timber — a mix of hardwood species but mostly pine — lay on the ground below. …The logging project highlights the newest threat emerging to the future of the forest, Donham said. This time, a pending Trump administration proposal would roll back the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which prevents road construction and timber harvesting on millions of acres of federal forest land, including approximately 11,000 acres in the Shawnee. The proposal to rescind the wildly popular rule also triggered a harsh rebuke from environmental activists and nearly 170 members of Congress, the latter of whom signed a letter last week urging the Trump administration to abandon the plan.
Francis Marion University launches new forestry program
By Eric Cooper
WBTW 13 News
September 15, 2026
Category: Forestry
Region: US East
FLORENCE COUNTY, S.C. — Francis Marion University launched its new School of Forestry this semester, expanding the university’s academic offerings. The university is one of only three schools in South Carolina—and the only institution in the Pee Dee region—to offer a degree in forestry. The new program was created to address a growing demand for professional foresters throughout the state. To provide practical instruction alongside classroom learning, the university will utilize nearly 10,000 acres for field study. Anna Todd, the vice president of communication at Francis Marion University, explained that the institution evaluated adding the program over several years to meet workforce needs in South Carolina.
Seniors’ caravan rolls through Revelstoke in call for Canada to tackle climate change
By Evert Lindquist
The Aldergrove Star
September 14, 2026
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada West
A cohort of climate-conscious senior citizens caravanning across Canada to converge on the country’s capital, in a call for commitments to countering the consequences of extreme weather, stopped in Revelstoke last Thursday. The golden-agers travelling from Victoria launched Sept. 9, meeting with scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki in Vancouver and aiming to reach Ottawa by end of this week. An East Coast caravan departing from Nova Scotia is also bound for Parliament Hill. Seniors’ Climate Witness’s (SCW) members include Amalia Schelhorn, Bill Darnell, Brian Short, Dawn Moorhead, Michael Polanyi and Yves Parizeau from Victoria, Brooke Lydbrooke and Sharon Bider from Toronto, and Etienne Eason from Ottawa. …In an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney in August, they said they’re visiting communities that’ve experienced the impacts of this summer’s wildfire season. This includes evacuations, choking smoke, forestry loss and declines in tourism.
Ontario minister pledges better communication during wildfire season
The Canadian Press in CTV News
September 14, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: Canada East
Mike Harris
Ontario’s Natural Resources Minister Mike Harris pledged Monday better communication on wildfires after many First Nations communities said they received little to no warning about approaching flames this summer. The government has been criticized for its approach to the wildfire season in northwestern Ontario. First Nations said warnings from the province to evacuate due to fast-moving fires either came too late or not at all. … Residents of 12+ northern communities were forced to leave their homes as about 200 fires raged in July. …“One of the things just looking back that we can already learn is we’ve got to do a little bit better job on communication,” Harris said in Sault Ste. Marie, where he announced a $20-million investment to upgrade two major wildfire attack bases in northwestern Ontario. First Nations leaders have called for a public inquiry into the province’s response to the wildfires, a request that Harris has not committed to fulfilling.
Hello early bird! We just want you to know that the news team is busy adding stories to this page. Be sure to check back at 9:00 am (PST) for the full line up of articles.
As Congress returns to Washington, the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) is urging congressional leaders and the Administration to address growing cost and supply pressures stemming from recently implemented Section 338 tariffs on Canadian building materials. In a 
Indigenous land titles, data centres and human-bear conflicts are among the top-of-mind concerns for municipal politicians, as they gather for their annual fall convention and attempt to influence the provincial government’s agenda. The Union of B.C. Municipalities convention this year is being held in Vancouver from Sept. 14 to 18. … The City of Nanaimo is calling for a ban on exporting raw logs and lumber cants. A cant is a raw log with its bark removed. The motion identifies a lack of adequate and affordable wood fibre supply as a key factor in the continued curtailment or permanent closure of B.C. sawmills and pulp mills. Over the past five years, on average, about 3.2 million cubic metres of raw logs have been exported. The ban would be to “ensure that forests harvested in B.C. from Crown land and private managed forest lands are processed in B.C., encouraging value-added manufacturing in B.C. and supporting employment in B.C.’s forest industry,” the motion states.
American sawmilling is adding capacity faster than it is using it, with 2.1 billion board feet due in the South by 2028, net of every closure already announced. That is according to Forisk, the forest industry consultancy, which tracks more than 2,350 North American mills and logged fifteen sawmill projects in the third quarter alone. “We searched for a buyer… for our mill in Montrose, Colorado,” president Jim Neiman said. Twain Lumber met the opposite condition in Virginia, buying a mill that had been idle since 2024. Twelve of the fifteen projects added capacity, and the three that took it out were all Canadian, with Canfor closing Fox Creek in Alberta for good and Western Forest Products holding Cowichan Bay in British Columbia down since May. Canadian producers have worked both sides of that trade for a decade, and West Fraser shut down 100 Mile House in British Columbia last year while expanding its Henderson facility in Texas.
Consumer inflation held steady at 3% last month compared to a year earlier as higher rent and travel costs offset a slowdown in rising prices for gas and groceries. Statistics Canada says the annual rate of inflation was unchanged from July. The agency says gasoline costs continued to increase in August but at a slower pace, as the conflict in the Middle East continued to weigh on prices. Excluding gasoline, consumer prices rose 2.4% last month compared to a year earlier, up from 2.2% in July. …“Headline inflation remained elevated in August, but core measures continued to show only limited evidence that high energy prices are spilling over into wider inflationary pressure,” said CIBC economist Andrew Grantham. …“With the economic outlook clouded by U.S. tariffs and related uncertainty we think that the Bank of Canada should, and will, keep interest rates on hold in October meeting”.
For decades, architectural sustainability was dominated by operational performance. Better insulation, efficient mechanical systems, photovoltaic panels, passive solar strategies, and high-performance envelopes became the principal instruments for reducing environmental impact. Those measures remain important, but they no longer describe the entire carbon problem. A building can perform efficiently in operation while carrying an enormous historical carbon burden embedded in its concrete frame, steel reinforcement, glass, aluminum, masonry, finishes, foundations, and infrastructure. Once these materials have been manufactured, transported, assembled, and incorporated into a structure, their associated emissions cannot simply be erased by installing efficient equipment. This is where the concept of material memory becomes architecturally significant. Existing buildings contain not only physical material but also the emissions already invested in producing that material. Retaining a structural frame therefore represents more than preservation. It can function as a form of carbon avoidance.
At Stora Enso’s mill in Varkaus, Finland, recovered cardboard packaging is converted into new fibre raw material. The same fibre can be recycled up to 7 times before it becomes too short and weak for further use. The site contains Finland’s largest recycled-fibre processing facility. Covering approximately 3 hectares, it receives used packaging from households, retailers and packaging manufacturers. More than 95 per cent of paperboard and cardboard packaging is recycled in Finland. However, domestic collections do not provide enough material for the mill, which also imports recovered packaging from Sweden and the Baltic countries. Approximately 20 truckloads of recovered material arrive at the site each day. The compressed bales contain products such as milk cartons, pizza boxes and cereal packages.
The Province, in partnership with Na̲nwak̲olas Council, has identified the first candidate area to explore a proposed three-zone forest management model in B.C. The B.C. government is working closely with First Nations, along with industry, local governments and interested parties to identify other candidate areas. Candidate areas will be used to explore a three-zone model for public forests that supports a more co-ordinated approach to land use, stewardship and economic priorities that integrate with ongoing planning processes. The intended outcome is to demonstrate how this model can improve predictability for industry, workers, First Nations, local communities and conservation interests
As part of the City of Rossland FireSmart program, contractors will complete FireSmart fuel treatment projects on municipal land parcels within the community beginning this week. The objective of the fuel management project is to reduce hazardous forest fuels and to decrease wildfire risk to the adjacent residents and the community, noted a release from the city. “The goal for the project is to reduce hazardous surface fuel accumulations close to homes and the community,” it stated. Expected activities include: Reduction of woody surface fuels from tree mortality and winter storm damage; Removal of dead standing trees; Retention of the healthy, large trees to maintain a cool and moist under storey; Retention and protection of all healthy, deciduous trees and shrubs (leaves have a high moisture content and are low flammability); Retention and protection of high value wildlife trees; and Debris disposal (chipping).
UNIVERSITY of UTAH — A satellite instrument built to track air pollution has turned out to be a useful early-warning sensor for dying forests. In work covered on 13 September 2026 by Scienmag and published earlier that month by the 
