Canadian wildfire smoke is degrading air quality across the eastern US, as extreme heat fuels new fire threats. In related news: forecasters say the El Niño effect is already here; the Northwest Territories warn of extreme fire weather; the Assembly of First Nations calls for federal support for Ontario First Nation; Boston Bar firefighters shift to structure protection; and Pemberton is now on evacuation alert.
In Forestry news: Washington tribes sue Trump to thwart endangered species change; FPInnovations advances drone-assisted reforestation research; commercial thinning is shown to be doable in BC; and Tony Kryzanowski says forestry should become Canada’s leading environmental voice.
In Business news: Carrier Forest Products will indefinitely curtail its Big River, Saskatchewan mill; Prince George leaders respond to Canfor’s pulp mill closure, and housing data points to a slow recovery in Canada, while US single-family construction remains weak. Meanwhile: Coastland launched a Vancouver Island barge service, the TLA is hiring a communications director; and the latest from the US Endowment, WorkSafeBC; and BC Wood.
Finally, congratulations to Mathieu Blouin—named FPInnovations new President and CEO.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
US single-family homebuilding and permits for future construction fell in June, weighed down by higher mortgage rates and inventory of unsold new homes on the market. Single-family housing starts, which account for the bulk of homebuilding, slipped 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 895,000 units. Single-family homebuilding dropped 3.2% year-on-year in June. Permits for future construction of single-family homes dropped 2.4% last month to a rate of 871,000 units. They fell 0.2% year-on-year in June. The rate on the popular 30-year fixed-mortgage has increased by nearly 60 basis points since the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February. …Building permits for multi-family housing projects dropped 4.9% to a rate of 445,000 units last month. Overall building permits fell 3.0% to a rate of 1.367 million units. They declined 2.3% year-on-year in June.
Two Western Washington tribes are suing the Trump administration to save endangered-species habitats nationwide. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court in Seattle by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the Squaxin Island Tribe, follows the Trump administration’s recent reinterpretation of the Endangered Species Act. The Interior Department and the Department of Commerce announced they were nixing the decades-old interpretation of the act: Damage to an endangered species’ habitat would no longer be viewed as “harm” to the species. The species act would only be used to prevent directly injuring or killing endangered wildlife. “It’s devastating because of the impacts on the ESA-listed Chinook salmon,” Swinomish tribal chair Steve Edwards said. …Noah Greenwald said companies would have little incentive to enter into or continue habitat conservation plans. …Nick Smith said the new rule could make projects like tree thinning in fire-prone forests easier to carry out.
The long-anticipated El Niño is here. …In its monthly update in June, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), issued an El Niño advisory, confirming that the warmer conditions had developed in the specific part of the Pacific Ocean known as Niño 3.4. In order to be considered an El Niño, temperatures need to be 0.5 C above the average. Ocean temperatures are now close to 2 C above average. …The strongest El Niño in recent years was the one in 2015-2016, where the ocean temperature anomaly was roughly 2.75 C. ….Nat Johnson, a meteorologist at NOAA’s geophysical fluid dynamics laboratory, said the transition from a La Niña to El Niño has been very quick. …Meanwhile, in Canada, the effects will be seen in the winter months, bringing milder temperatures, but also drier conditions, something that is of great concern for wildfire development in the spring in Western Canada.
IDAHO — On the afternoon of July 6, I looked toward the foothills from the Boise Bench and saw smoke. …With all the other fires burning in the West, wondered when our turn would come. Eighty-five percent of wildfires are human caused — and while the cause of the Claremont Fire has yet to be determined, it is certain that human activity played an important role. Science journalist and meteorologist Bob Henson writes that “extreme heat is among the most studied consequences of human-caused climate change, and the connections between a warming planet and amplified, localized extreme heat are not only intuitive but well-documented.” …Professor Friederlile Otto of Climate Science at Imperial College London writes, “we remain on a one-way trip towards a more dangerous future, and it’s time we hit the brakes… and implement solutions to protect our health and the health of the place we call home.”
Thick, choking plumes of smoke from Canadian wildfires are pouring into major cities across the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, bringing dangerous air quality to more than 100 million people. The polluted air will last through at least Saturday in some areas as new waves of smoke waft south. …More than 100 million people in 18 states are under air quality alerts, many of which note that the air pollution is so high, even healthy adults will be affected. “The risk of health effects is increased for everyone,” the DC, air quality council said. …The smoke is being carried south from Canada in the wind. On Friday, the plume pushed farther south, making the DC area the new East Coast-epicenter of air pollution. Relief is coming as the wind pushes the smoke back into the Northeast and rain and storms are in the forecast
