BC is making legislative changes to bolster access to fire, insect, and storm-damaged timber. In related news: Spearhead’s glulam expansion takes shape in Nelson, BC; AV Group New Brunswick secures funds to reduce GHGs at Atholville pulp mill; and Gorman Group celebrates 75 years with new sawmill. Meanwhile: the EU’s new packaging rules were published; Japan’s housing starts dropped; and US kitchen cabinets sales fell.
In Forestry news: the US administration seeks rarely used Endangered Species Act exemption; Saskatchewan is facing a wicked fire season; and a UBC study says forest loss causes watersheds to leak rain. Meanwhile: it’s the last chance to register for the COFI Convention; key takeaways from the Canadian Woodlands Forum meeting in Moncton; and the latest news from Forest Professionals BC and the BC Community Forest Association.
Finally, a new mass timber design hub will open in Melbourne, Australia this April.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) Annual Convention is just days away, with registration closing April 2 for the April 8–10 event at the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver.
The B.C. government says it’s making legislative changes to bolster access to wood fibre, including timber damaged by wildfires, insects and windstorms. The Forests Ministry says the changes will potentially increase the supply of fibre by as much as 17,700 truckloads and allow B.C. Timber Sales to auction off contracts for forestry thinning, wildfire risk reduction and damaged timber salvage. A statement from the ministry says these “fibre-generating activities” will be available to forestry contractors and value-added mills. …B.C.’s forestry industry has been facing a shortage of fibre as the Wood Pellet Association of Canada said in 2025 that the fibre supply has fallen more than 40 per cent since 2018… Kurt Niquidet with B.C. Council of Forest Industries said in 2024 that local and global demand for wood products to build more affordable housing is growing, but the forestry industry is also facing a “critical shortage” of timber for B.C. mills.
Japan’s 
The European Commission published guidelines on the implementation of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) to facilitate the uniform application of the new packaging rules across the EU and simplify compliance for economic actors and Member States. The full application of this law will contribute to a more sustainable and competitive packaging sector across the EU and to strengthening the Single Market for packaging through common rules. On average, in 2023, each European generated 178kg of packaging waste. Without intervention, total packaging waste could further rise by 19% by 2030 compared to 2018 levels, while plastic waste could rise by as much as 46%. At the same time, the packaging industry faces significant administrative burdens as a result of divergent national packaging rules across Member States. …This document also spells out the restrictions on single-use packaging, enforcement of the PFAS restriction in food contact packaging, and the application of re-use targets. 
The construction industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, mostly due to conventional materials production. Because of this, there is an urgent need for sustainable alternatives. Bio-based materials offer a promising alternative but remain underutilized. This study examines wood to derive insights that could support the broader adoption of bio-based alternatives. This research explores the systemic drivers and barriers to the diffusion of wood through interviews with key actors. A system dynamics model is developed to capture the main factors affecting wood diffusion and their interdependencies. …It shows that successful diffusion requires systemic innovation, necessitating collaboration across the ecosystem. This systemic analysis offers important insights for other bio-based materials, which differ in resource availability, applications, and production cycles, but face similar barriers such as workforce shortages, scalability, and societal acceptance. Overcoming these barriers requires targeted trainings and supportive policies. 
It’s a well-established fact that forests and water are deeply connected. For decades, paired-watershed experiments have shown that when we lose forests, the total amount of water flowing through our rivers tends to rise. But a critical question has remained unanswered: does this extra water come from previous reserves, or is it simply “new” rain that the land is failing to hold? Is forest loss causing our watersheds to lose their internal integrity and leak like a sifter? Our recent study at the University of BC analyzed 657 watersheds across the globe. By using a tool called the Young Water Fraction, we found that forest loss significantly accelerates how fast precipitation travels through a landscape. We estimate that for every 1% of forest lost, the “young water” in our streams increases by about 0.17%. Crucially, our research reveals that… the way we arrange forest patches can either aggravate or mitigate this leakage.
…Wildfires scorched 2.9 million hectares of Saskatchewan forest last year, forcing thousands of people from their homes and destroying more than 450 dwellings across the province, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). Some experts are warning this year could be just as bad. A relatively dry fall and unusual winter conditions are setting the stage, said Colin Laroque, a professor of environmental science at the University of Saskatchewan. …Finance Minister Jim Reiter called this year’s provincial budget “essentially” the status quo for wildfire preparation and response. The province announced a $20-million increase for the SPSA earlier this month, bringing its total budget to $140 million. The increase includes an additional water bomber. …Eric Lamb, a professor at U of S, said extreme weather conditions are no longer rare and require a different approach focused more on preventative measures, like prescribed burns, before a wildfire season begins.
Mountains that normally see their peak snowpack in March are brown this year, thanks to a spring heat dome that baked the western U.S. for much of the second half of March. That’s raising alarm bells for the fire season, which is already ramping up. John Abatzoglu, a professor of climatology at the University of California Merced, said everything is “lining up for a potentially nasty fire season across the west… the warning signs are flashing.” The heat wave eased over the weekend after a sustained run of temperatures 11 to 17 C above normal — with highs in the 30s and 40s in some states. This would be “virtually impossible” without climate change caused by human CO2 pollution, mainly from fossil fuels. Early snow-melt has been linked to a longer fire season, as it dries out the landscape and provides more time and opportunity for fires to ignite and spread
As the Trump administration wages war on Iran, it’s citing national security to seek an exemption from the Endangered Species Act for expanded oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico — a move alarming environmental groups who say it could set a dangerous precedent for future fossil fuel projects. Environmentalists argue the government hasn’t followed proper procedure and they’re seeking to block the move before Interior Secretary Doug Burgum convenes the Endangered Species Committee on Tuesday. The committee, nicknamed the “God Squad” by groups who say it can determine the fate of a species, is comprised of six high-ranking federal officials plus a representative for states involved. …The Center for Biological Diversity sued last week to block the committee meeting. …The committee was established in 1978 as a way to exempt projects from the Endangered Species Act. …The committee has only convened three times in its 53-year history and issued only two exemptions. 
