Canada and the US are discussing an interim trade deal, with forest products among the sectors under discussion. In related news: Trump readies wildfire retaliation on Canada for smoke; and Kim Haakstad’s top 3 actions for BC’s struggling industry. In other Business news: Interfor swings back to profits in Q2; Metsä reports an operating loss; German sawmillers face headwinds; US share of Canada’s lumber exports slipped; and lumber futures extend their losing streak. Meanwhile: Gorman’s CEO Ashlee Cribb will present at FEA’s Forest Products Forum; and WoodTALKS at the GBM announced its keynotes.
In Forestry/Wildfire news: Canada’s public service union says job cuts reduce forestry expertise; an investigation into Alberta fish habitat damage was halted due to resource constraints; BC entities debate gate access to the Walbran Valley; Mississauga First Nation received funding to advance wildfire stewardship; the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry in Hilo may be closing; Alaska smokejumpers made their first aerial jump in 67 years; and Washington State says the Spokane fire arsonist had planned the act for weeks. Meanwhile: CWC’s WOOD Design and Building magazine is out; and the latest news on SFI’s Project Learning Tree.
Finally, a University Maine researcher is turning wood fibre into a bio-based cooler insulation.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hundreds of wildfires are burning across North America, putting communities, buildings, and firefighters at risk. With blazes in Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Utah, and in Canada, especially in British Columbia, Ontario, and the Northwest Territories, there have been plenty of headlines about the devastation. Last month, smoke from Canadian boreal forest fires poured into the United States, triggering air quality alerts for more than 120 million Americans. …Four Republican lawmakers accused Canada of failing to do enough to prevent wildfire smoke from hitting the United States, claiming that “continued inaction” was “unacceptable.” President Donald Trump also expressed frustration. …Forest management experts say Trump is oversimplifying a much more complicated problem. The U.S. and Canada have forests that are different in structure, but both now face many of the same fire pressures, says Lori Daniels, a professor of forest and conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia. [A subscription to the National Post is required for full story access]
Canada and the US are discussing a prospective deal in which Ottawa would agree to a long list of Trump administration trade demands in exchange for some relief on sectoral tariffs. According to three sources, the two sides have discussed in-depth proposals and traded written bargaining positions but an agreement has not yet been reached. …Canada would concede on a range of trade issues that the US considers the biggest bilateral trade irritants, including autos, alcohol dairy. …In return, the US. would lower sectoral levies, known as Sec. 232 tariffs, on steel and aluminum, with Ottawa also pushing for relief on autos and forest products. Canada is also hoping to avoid Trump’s latest round of threatened tariffs, scheduled to take effect in less than two weeks’ time. …The deal under discussion would represent only the first phase of trade talks and is being described as an “interim deal.” [to access the full story a Globe and Mail subscription is required]
With one of the last buyers of hemlock pulpwood gone, good forest management could become too costly to sustain — putting habitat, climate resilience and rural jobs all at risk. News about the end of pulping operations at Finch Paper has focused on how it is bad for logging contractors and the forest products industry. As organizations focused on the future of Vermont forests, we agree — those impacts are significant. …This is bad news for everyone who cares about sustaining Vermont’s forests. [While commodity products are] often a goal of forest management, so are: improving wildlife habitat, biodiversity, climate resilience, recreational trails, carbon storage, protecting against pests and diseases… managing fire danger and improving the overall health and diversity of forests. Our organizations may prioritize the benefits on this list differently, but we agree on one thing: Without buyers for wood … forest management become economically difficult, or impossible, to carry out. 
The United States’ share of Canada’s softwood lumber exports fell by 1 percentage point to 89% in January-June 2026. Canada exported 13.2 million m3, down 12%, while export value fell 26% to $2.45 billion and the average price declined 16% to $186 per m3. …Shipments to the US fell 13% to 11.7 million m3, a reduction of 1.73 million m3 from a year earlier. Export value dropped 29% to $2.02 billion, and the average price fell 18% to $172 per m3. The listed destinations with higher shipments added 77 thousand m3, equal to about 4% of the US shortfall. Declines in Japan, the Philippines, Germany and the remaining destinations totaled 128 thousand m3, leaving total non-U.S. exports down 51 thousand m3, or 3%, at 1.50 million m3. China remained Canada’s second-largest market with a 4% share. Shipments rose 3% to 525 thousand m3. Japan ranked third with a 3% share, but shipments fell 19% to 373 thousand m3. Taiwan accounted for 1.4%, the Philippines retained a 0.8% share, Mexico rose to 49 thousand m3,Germany received 33 thousand m3.
BURNABY, BC — Interfor reported its second quarter of 2026 results. The company recorded net earnings in Q2’26 of $1.0 million, compared to a net loss of $63.3 million, and net earnings of $11.1 million in Q2’25. Adjusted EBITDA was $92.3 million on sales of $804.4 million in Q2’26 versus $30.7 million on sales of $643.2 million in Q1’26 and Adjusted EBITDA of $17.2 million on sales of $780.5 million in Q2’25. ….Lumber production of 927 million board feet was up 71 million board feet versus the preceding quarter driven primarily by the ramp up of the recently rebuilt Thomaston, GA sawmill. …The Company is well positioned to navigate this volatility with a diversified product mix in Canada and the US, with approximately 65% of its total lumber produced and sold within the US Ultimately, only about 20% of the Company’s total lumber production is exported from Canada to the U.S. and exposed to duties, tariffs or other potential trade measures.
The economic situation of the German sawmilling and timber industry remains strained, according to the latest report from the German Sawmill and Timber Industry Association (DESH). Ther Berlin-based group, which represents German sawmillers, says the persistently weak construction sector, the global economic and sales crisis, high raw material and production costs, and mounting cost pressures are placing a significant burden on domestic companies. It warns of a further deterioration in the situation. In the coming weeks, DESH says many companies will be forced to scale back production capacities and extend scheduled maintenance periods. “Despite promising rhetoric from policymakers, the hoped-for recovery of the domestic construction industry has yet to materialize,” it said. “Demand for construction timber in key export markets also remains subdued due to geopolitical crises and a global economic slowdown. At the same time, persistently high costs for raw materials, energy, and production are burdening companies. 
Retreat to the woods and waves of Vancouver Island this fall for the 29th Annual Woodlots BC Conference and AGM in Parksville from October 1-3. This year’s event will be held at the tranquil Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort, located on the traditional lands of the Qualicum and Snaw-Naw-As First Nations. Explore the theme “Woods & Waves: Navigating the Narrative” through coastal field tours followed by a full day of speakers and sessions. This is a fantastic opportunity to combine professional development with a relaxing resort experience. Enjoy the 22-acre forested oceanfront resort featuring 3 kms of sandy beach, the Grotto Spa, indoor pool and on-site restaurant. This year’s theme is Woods & Waves: Navigating the Narrative. Woodlots in BC face unique, shifting challenges—from intense weather events to changing regulations. This theme uses “navigation” as a metaphor, positioning open communication and collective wisdom as the ultimate compass for woodlot managers. Register by the Early Bird deadline on August 31, 2026, for a chance to win your Early Bird registration back. 
The BC government’s decision to grant a logging company permits to install three gates blocking access to the Walbran Valley’s old-growth forests was almost certain to draw criticism from environmental organizations. …“Blocking access to these places damages the relationship people have to the landscape… which only benefits logging companies,” said Torrance Coste of the Wilderness Committee. …But the gates are much more than just a physical barrier to would-be travellers. They also highlight a divide among environmental organizations and First Nations and the BC government over the future of old-growth forests. …Tsawak-qin is invested in logging Vancouver Island’s increasingly rare old-growth forests, including forests adjacent to and potentially inside the unprotected portion of the Walbran. …Jeff Jones, Elected Chief of the Pacheedaht First Nation, said… “we have two community forest partnerships. We have a sawmill that we benefit from… that creates employment. And we also get the revenues from the partnerships.”
The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) has expanded eligibility under its Fibre Utilization Funding Program to include Timber Sale Licences. Eligible applicants can now apply for funding to recover biomass from active and approved Timber Sale Licences (TSLs) issued prior to July 31, 2026. Organizations that are new to the program, or that do not currently have FESBC Fibre Utilization funding, are encouraged to review the 2026-27 Fibre Utilization Funding Program Guide and submit an application. Current Fibre Utilization funding recipients may also be able to amend their existing projects to include eligible Timber Sales Licences.
ALBERTA — A multi-year investigation into an unapproved bridge built over the Highwood River by a logging company in critical habitat for a threatened fish species was halted by a federal ministry due to a lack of resources. An internal 2025 document… states Fisheries and Oceans Canada had multiple ongoing investigations into critical habitat being destroyed, but the regulator lacked resources to work on them all. …Highwood River in Kananaskis Country grabbed the regulator’s attention after it learned Spray Lake Sawmills built a bridge over it without federal approval in 2023. …The two-year investigation was halted despite federal staff finding “destruction of critical habitat for bull trout” had happened, during an on-site visit in 2023. Instead, the federal ministry found West Fraser’s work (the company that took over the project from Spray Lake Sawmills) had been “fulfilled to the satisfaction of the (DFO)” after it removed the unapproved bridges and created a remediation plan.
A man charged with starting one of the wildfires in Spokane, Washington, that have destroyed hundreds of buildings planned the crime for weeks and researched when the weather would be best for igniting it, police said. In an interview after his arrest, Aaron Farinacci said “fire is powerful, beautiful, and that things that go through fire experience a kind of rebirth,” Spokane County Detective Michael Drapeau wrote in a court filing Wednesday. Farinacci, 37, is charged with starting the Old Trails fire, one of three blazes in the Spokane area that have burned more than 850 buildings, destroying whole neighborhoods and streets. …Farinacci served about a decade in prison after killing his father in Mesa, Arizona, in 2010. He also shot himself. He was charged with murder but pleaded guilty in 2012 to manslaughter and aggravated assault. Farinacci’s lawyer repeatedly raised concerns about his mental health during the case.