US housing starts plunged 15.4% in May, while permits were little changed, signalling continued caution among builders. In related news: oil prices eased, though a return to pre-conflict norms appears unlikely; and the US continues to process tariff refunds. In Business news: J.D. Irving responds to an air quality incident; Stora Enso curtails its Veitsiluoto sawmill in Finland; US lawmakers propose Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act; Oregon State University readies first-of-its kind mass timber lab; and New Zealand tests CLT’s earthquake readiness.
In Forestry/Wildfire news: the BC Council of Forest Industries rebuilds public support; Saskatchewan strengenths its wildfire strategy in response to MNP review; all of Oregon officially enters fire season; Georgia wildfires are up 90% in 2026; ENGOs raise alarm over the Roadless Rule repeal; and utility operators push for passage of the Fix Our Forests Act.
Finally, New Zealand battles invasive contorta pine, it’s most damaging wilding tree.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
Federal law allows utilities operating on national forest land to remove hazardous trees only within 10 feet of a power line. In Western forests, where trees routinely reach 100 feet tall and a single ignition can drive hundreds of thousands of acres of destruction, 10 feet is not a safety standard — it is a disaster waiting to happen. The Fix Our Forests Act would extend that authority to 150 feet, alongside streamlined federal permitting for wildfire mitigation work and tighter judicial review timelines on fuel-reduction projects… The bill has cleared the House by a 279-141 vote and passed the Senate Agriculture Committee by a vote of 18 to 5 … Utility operators across the West are calling for it. But it does not have the support of Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). …The community-owned utilities I represent … don’t have a stake in what gets logged. But they do have a stake in whether the lines stay up when fire moves through…
Global oil prices fell on Monday following news of a tentative deal between Iran and the U.S. to extend their ceasefire agreement and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but a veteran oil watcher doesn’t see crude prices returning to pre-war levels anytime soon. Eric Nuttall, partner at Ninepoint Partners, said that traders are trying to determine where the price of oil will settle out in the coming days and weeks, as many key details about the deal still need to be ironed out. …Nuttall noted that even if the strategically important Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened as a result of the Iran-U.S. deal, it will take time for oil markets to recover from the volatility of the last three and a half months. …In addition to the logistical backlog and supply chain disruption, the war in Iran has caused extensive damage to petroleum facilities across the Middle East, Nuttall explained.
A top US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official told Court of International Trade (CIT) Judge Richard Eaton on 9 June that the agency is still creating a process for refunding tariffs that involve more complex entry types and that have been finally liquidated (i.e., are more than 90 days post-liquidation) in the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries portal. “We can’t do it all at once,” CBP Executive Assistant Commissioner Susan Thomas testified. ….The US Trade Representative (USTR) is 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Andrea Salinas (D-OR) introduced the Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act. This bipartisan legislation provides incentives for the use of mass timber building materials in federal contracting, giving timber and other forest products companies the ability to compete for construction, renovation, or acquisition of public buildings, and for military construction. The bill creates a two-tier contracting preference for mass timber and other innovative wood projects. The first-tier preference applies to mass timber that is made within the U.S. and responsibly sourced from state, federal, private, and Tribal forestlands. The optional second tier applies to mass timber products that are sourced from restoration practices, fire mitigation projects, and forest owners. Additionally, this bill contains a reporting requirement for a whole building lifecycle assessment. The results of this assessment will help provide additional evidence of the environmental benefits of the use of timber and forest products in buildings.
The Government of Saskatchewan announced immediate actions to strengthen the province’s wildfire strategy in response to MNP’s independent review of the 2025 wildfire season. In October 2025, the Government of Saskatchewan commissioned MNP to conduct an independent review of the 2025 wildfire season. MNP was responsible for evaluating the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s (SPSA) wildfire and emergency prevention, preparedness, response, evacuation, and recovery strategy. Participants in the review included members of affected communities, emergency responders, Indigenous organizations, representatives from the SPSA, provincial ministries, municipal and regional partners. …The Government of Saskatchewan’s response to the recommendations includes 11 actions the SPSA has been directed to implement immediately. The Future Preparedness and Implementation Unit has been established within the SPSA to advance and monitor the implementation of the 11 actions directed by the Government of Saskatchewan.
Kim Haakstad is stepping into a familiar debate with renewed urgency. As president and CEO of the Council of Forest Industries (COFI), she is helping lead a province-wide campaign to rebuild public support for forestry. COFI represents British Columbia’s forest industry, advocating for policy, sustainability and economic growth across the sector. Haakstad says their new campaign is about reframing forestry’s role in a changing province. “
More than 4.2 million miles of public roads crisscross the lower 48 states… This vast network of roads leaves only about 5% as an inventoried roadless area or wilderness. Now, some of those last remaining lands free of roads are under threat from the Trump administration’s proposed rollback of the 2001 Roadless Rule. That includes southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, where eagles, bears, salmon and many other species thrive in old-growth coastal forest along the Inside Passage. …The Trump administration’s proposed rollback, expected to be formalized in 2026, would open these last wild places to development, fragmenting habitats that can never be restored. …The American public spoke loudly in 2001 when they supported the Roadless Rule. Two decades later, the public comments submitted on the recission notice overwhelming opposed rolling back the rules, a Center for Western Priorities review found, reaffirming that U.S. roadless forests remain as vital and valued as ever.
Fire season has begun in Oregon. Hot and dry conditions have forest managers across the state on edge as the season officially started June 15, bringing with it restrictions meant to prevent wildfires. The main restriction is a prohibition on debris and backyard burning on state, county and private lands, although official rules are set by local fire districts. Debris burning is the most frequent human cause of wildfires that spread in populated areas. “With it being this hot and dry, one little bit of wind could spread an ember and start a fire. It’s the perfect time to cover your pile and wait until fall,” Oregon Department of Forestry spokeswoman Jessica Neujahr said.
GEORGIA — Amid drought conditions and larger fires, Georgia Forestry Commission Director Johnny Sabo told lawmakers the cost to put out the blazes in south Georgia cost more than half of his annual department budget. “We’re looking about $35 million between these two fires,” Sabo said about the cost of putting out the Pineland Road and Highway 82 fires in south Georgia. “To put that in perspective, my annual budget is $52 million.” Those figures don’t include the costs of helping communities recover from the damage and losses afterward. …Sabo said Georgia has experienced a more active fire season than in previous years, with the number of fires up 88%. It was made more dangerous by drier conditions. …The data from Sabo showed the yearly average acreage of fires was 5.6 acres in previous years. The size of the fires made it so smoke was even visible to residents in the metro Atlanta area.
NEW BRUNSWICK — On the morning of May 26, a provincial air quality monitoring station on the west side of Saint John began registering unusual readings. …There was no special public notification about the west side spike, even though the environment department watched it develop and was concerned enough to launch an immediate investigation to determine the cause. …The department, in emails, said it believes operations and maintenance work at the Irving Pulp & Paper mill could have been a contributing factor. …“The cause appears to be a combination of unusual weather, which trapped pollutants at ground level rather than dispersing them upward, combined with higher than ordinary emissions during a cleaning/maintenance cycle at the mill.” J.D. Irving said there is “no concrete way to confirm” it caused the poor air quality readings but said adjustments in mill operations were made at the time to be on the safe side.