President Joe Biden proclaimed Oct 20-26 National Forest Products Week in the US. In related news: Wisconsin notes Stella-Jones’ economic contribution, Missouri’s School of Natural Resources points to forest products’ carbon benefits; North Carolina State researchers highlight lignin’s ability to replace petroleum; US NGOs question the legality of Cambodian hardwood imports; and Paris celebrates Europe’s newest timber tower. Meanwhile: China looms over the US-Canada trade pact; North American lumber prices are up; and Canadian interest rates are coming down.
In Forestry/Climate news: amid dire claims, COP16—the UN’s Biodiversity Conference—kicks off this week; Ontario expands its wildland fire program; Nova Scotia reports its least active wildfire season on record; California employs controlled burns to build fire-resilient communities; and Team Tahoe accelerates forest heath in the Tahoe basin.
Finally, a new book on Paul Bunyan—Gentlemen of the Woods: Manhood, Myth, and the American Lumberjack.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Regardless of who sits in the White House, the 2026 review over USMCA, the extension of the North American free-trade pact, will be dominated by a country that does not sit at the bargaining table: China. Yes, Canada’s dairy market, softwood lumber duties and Canada’s digital service tax will be thrown into the mix. But… In 2018, Canada was caught off guard by U.S. preoccupations with competition between the great powers. That resulted in USMCA’s “China clause,” discouraging free-trade agreements by the USMCA members with non-market economies. …In 2022, Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, outlined the American economic security policy vis-à-vis China as a “small yard, high fence” strategy. …Canada can help keep the fence high, but only if the yard stays small. That maxim should ultimately appeal to both Canada and the U.S. …The USMCA review therefore provides an important opportunity to demarcate the yard and to reinforce the fence. [to access the full story a Globe and Mail subscription is required]
OTTAWA — Forecasters expect the Bank of Canada to speed up the pace of interest rate cuts and lower its policy rate by half a percentage point this week. The central bank’s interest rate announcement on Wednesday comes after Statistics Canada reported the annual inflation rate in September tumbled to 1.6% — below the Bank of Canada’s two per cent inflation target. Nathan Janzen, an assistant chief economist at RBC, said the latest consumer price index report reinforced his expectation for a supersized rate cut. “You have an economy that’s probably performing worse than necessary to get inflation under control and still interest rates (are) at restrictive territory,” Janzen said, adding that the central bank needs to lower interest rates to a level that doesn’t hinder economic growth. …The Bank of Canada has lowered its key interest rate three times so far, bringing it down to 4.25%.
Steady sales and tightening supplies drove framing lumber prices higher in many species. Traders balanced news of rising mortgage interest rates with growing positive sentiment among single-family homebuilders. The Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price notched its third consecutive weekly increase, rising $8 to $411. That is the composite’s highest level since April. Western S-P-F buyers padded light field inventories and procured occasional insurance loads amid a perception that supplies were less available. …In the South, upward price momentum eased as the week progressed. Sales moderated to a steady, but less fervent pace compared to recent weeks. Hurricane Milton’s aftermath generated a modest increase in demand for items needed to rebuild fences and make other repairs in the storm’s peripheral path.
Trees are a defining feature of the North Shore. They help to cool the surface temperature, and absorb water as it runs down slopes and off asphalt surfaces… But having too many trees in residential neighbourhoods can create wildfire risks, so the district should be careful when it adds more protections… While it’s hard to find anyone in the district who isn’t inspired by trees, Mayor Little expressed his “unpopular opinion” that too many green giants ought not to grow close to homes… “While I applaud the goal to retain trees throughout our community for all of the natural benefits that are self evident in there, I do think that the right place for most of them is on our public lands,” he added.
The province of Ontario is providing $64 million to its wildland fire program to support hiring and training of staff, and equipment purchases, but the union representing wildland firefighters says more support is needed. The province announced the funding this week, saying it would be used to “hire and train key personnel and fund the purchase of new support equipment and technology, including fuel systems, tankers, trucks and software systems.” However, Noah Freedman, fire crew leader and local vice-president with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), said the province needs to take further action to ensure fire crews are property staffed. “It’s a very common tactic that the government’s been using, with single investments rather than increase of budgets,” he said. “One thing that we’ve been calling on for quite a long time now is to have our budget increased, and to also reclassify wildland firefighters so that they’re actually recognized as firefighters.”
Restoring forest health is a major priority for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and our partners on the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team. Following the Angora Fire in 2007, TRPA helped bring fire and forest management agencies together to increase the pace of forest fuel reduction projects, streamline permit processes, and prioritize new funding sources. The Angora Fire was a wakeup call for the Tahoe Basin. Although it was relatively small by today’s standards, the 3,100-acre fire destroyed more than 250 homes along Angora Ridge on the South Shore… TRPA is also helping fire and emergency management agencies coordinating on emergency evacuation planning. The Tahoe Basin was awarded a $1.7-million federal PROTECT grant for regional evacuation planning and to address wildfire and extreme weather vulnerabilities in our transportation and communication infrastructure.
As the United Nations two-week COP16 biodiversity summit kicks off on Monday in Cali, Colombia, here is what you need to know about nature’s rapid decline – and its importance to the global economy. Plants and animals play significant parts in keeping nature humming, from cycling nutrients throughout an ecosystem to aerating soils and engineering rivers. …However, more than a quarter of the world’s known species, or a total of about 45,300 species, are now threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Because forests are home to the most plant and animal species in any ecosystem, including 68% of mammal species, scientists consider deforestation levels to be a good proxy for nature destruction. …As of 2023, the amount of land deforested was 45% higher than where it should be in order to meet the 2030 goal…
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Forestry faculty from the University of Missouri School of Natural Resources will share findings of their recently published report showing wood products can play an important role in long-term carbon storage. A presentation will be held Oct. 24, on the MU campus. The report, “
