Federal and Provincial governments have agreed to support Ontario’s Kapuskasing Paper Mill, averting its closure. In related news: Carney and Trump meet tomorrow to talk trade and tariffs; Derek Nighbor says Canada needs an outcomes-based regulatory framework; the Decorative Hardwoods industry wants Section 232 tariffs broadened; while the Canadian Lumber Trade Alliance and New Brunswick lumber producers voiced their concern and displeasure. Meanwhile: the Forest Enhancement Society of BC is looking for new projects; and Erik Wilson joins PLIB as Executive VP.
In Forestry news: BC and ʼNa̱mǥis First Nation reach decision-making agreement; rescinding the roadless rule may threaten Virginia and Ohio’s national forests; a forester pushes back on Washington’s buffer rule for non-fish streams; Oregon’s Douglas firs face unprecedented dieback; and California’s Garnet Fire may have sterilized the soil. Meanwhile: agri-food companies say the EU deforestation law delay will endanger forests.
Finally; Forested Future – a documentary on US hardwood forests is premiering this Fall.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to head to Washington early next week to meet with US. President Trump. …Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Industry Minister Melanie Joly and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc will accompany Carney. This latest visit comes as Canadian and U.S. officials try to reach a deal on punishing American tariffs, and as a review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement gets underway. …Over the summer, the U.S. hiked its tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50%, with Canada imposing a 25% counter-tariff on U.S. steel and aluminum. …The source says next week’s meeting follows weeks of groundwork by LeBlanc, Canadian Ambassador to the US Kirsten Hillman and Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Sabia, with the team being aware the discussions could go sideways.
The Canadian Lumber Trade Alliance (CLTA) issued the following statement. …Luc Theriault, President, Wood Products at Domtar and Co-Chair of the Canadian Lumber Trade Alliance, said “The U.S. government’s decision to impose a further 10% tariff – on top of existing duties of 35% – is disappointing. These measures unjustly punish Canadian producers, while also driving up costs for our neighbors in the US.” …“Canadian lumber does not pose a national security risk to the United States. Our industry directly supports 200,000 jobs and sustains over 300 forest-dependent communities across Canada. We will continue to work closely with the Government of Canada to defend against these unfortunate trade actions and to safeguard Canadian forestry jobs.” …In its recent Section 232 proclamation, the US signaled a willingness to pursue negotiations. The Canadian industry is ready to engage. It is essential that the Government of Canada match this commitment and play an active role in defending our industry.
Companies reliant on New Brunswick’s softwood lumber industry are bracing for hard times after US President Trump announced new tariffs on Sept. 30. …In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt pleaded for the federal government to make softwood lumber tariffs a top priority. “In some communities in New Brunswick, one in every 11 workers depends directly on forest products,” Holt wrote. …Ron Marcolin, the New Brunswick vice-president with Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said the latest tariffs and duties are a big deal in a long-running drama over softwood lumber. …While New Brunswick may largely rely on the American market, Marcolin said Americans also rely on New Brunswick’s products. …”The thing is, too, they realize their product is inferior. Their softwood lumber is not as good as a Canadian stick of lumber.”
ONTARIO — Upper levels of government have reached funding agreements to support the Town of Kapuskasing’s Paper Mill, averting a planned closure and providing what local leaders are calling “a critical step” toward securing the region’s economic future. Kap Paper announced the newfound support in a social media post on Friday evening. “Next week, we’ll be working out the details for a restart plan,” the post said, adding that updates would be shared “as soon as everything is confirmed.” Kapuskasing Mayor Dave Plourde, called the deal a “critical step forward for Kapuskasing and the entire region,” in a statement posted to the town’s social media page. …“We now have a second chance – a window of opportunity to come together, calmly and deliberately, to build a plan for modernization and long-term competitiveness,” said Plourde …“Today, I am pleased to confirm that both the federal and provincial governments have agreed to provide support.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Oct. 1, 2025, nine presidents and CEOs representing American manufacturers of hardwood plywood, engineered wood flooring, and hardwood veneer asked President Trump to add their products to the recently announced Section 232 tariffs on wood products. The current 232 tariff proposal focuses on cabinets, vanities, lumber, upholstered furniture, and other products. Section 232 tariffs are trade restrictions, such as import duties, that the President of the United States can impose on goods that are found to threaten national security. According to the group of companies, more than 100,000 American manufacturing jobs are threatened by the “flood of dumped and subsidized decorative hardwood product imports from outside of North America.” The group pointed to the news that Roseburg Forest Products had closed its last hardwood plywood mill and exited the hardwood plywood market as a result of these imports, which the company said dominate 80% of the U.S. market.
It’s hard to find anything good to say about Canadian forestry stocks right now. Some of the biggest names in the sector have been on a downward slide for the past three years. … But the onslaught of grim news has highlighted some bargains. …Okay, the definition of attractive rests on an assumption that risk-averse investors might not want to embrace just yet: Despite Mr. Trump’s bluster, the US still needs Canadian lumber in a big way to feed its lumber-intensive home construction industry. Says who? The National Association of Home Builders, for one. …Some analysts believe that US forestry companies will struggle to replace Canadian softwood. Ben Isaacson, at Bank of Nova Scotia, estimates that US producers would have to build 50 new mills to become fully independent of Canadian lumber. Just two companies build the specialized equipment required in mills. They would struggle to supply even two mills a year. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]
President Donald Trump has reignited debate over the nation’s housing shortage, calling on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to spur a wave of new home construction. Trump accused large homebuilders of “sitting on 2 million empty lots, a record,” and likened their behavior to OPEC’s control of oil prices. …“I’m asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to get Big Homebuilders going and, by so doing, help restore the American Dream!” The president’s comments come as housing inventory has rebounded from historic lows in 2022, but builders continue to face limited incentives to ramp up construction. …Since taking office, Trump has made housing a central policy focus, including an executive order for emergency price relief and a campaign to pressure the Federal Reserve for lower rates. …Despite Trump’s calls, the mechanics of how Fannie and Freddie might spur more homebuilding remain unclear. 
The Chemainus River reveals its secrets in strange and unexpected ways. For years, I have wandered the forests near my North Cowichan home in search of the last few ancient trees, finding a few nice specimens here and there. In the heavily logged, 5,000-hectare Municipal Forest Reserve — popularly known as the Six Mountains, an hour north of Victoria — they are as elusive as the last rhinos of Sumatra. With a bit of luck, I hope my persistence may yet pay off. I don’t know it at the time, but my quest will launch me on a journey from the river’s headwaters to its mouth in pursuit of questions fundamental to the Chemainus and its future. How have human activities like industrial logging shaped the river, its watershed, and its salmon? …In my search for answers, I will discover modern challenges that bedevil other B.C. coastal rivers.
ʼNa̱mǥis First Nation and the Province are one step closer to a joint decision-making agreement that will support predictable harvesting, job creation and sustainable forestry operations on the north Island. “The best way to move fibre is by working together and that is what we are accomplishing with the ʼNa̱mǥis First Nation,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “I am optimistic that this draft agreement will create good-paying jobs and help us in our efforts to provide stability and certainty for our coastal forestry sector, as we deal with Donald Trump’s attack on our forestry sector.” ʼNa̱mǥis First Nation and the Province have developed a first-of-its-kind draft Section 7 joint decision-making agreement for the forestry sector under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act) and Forest Range and Practices Act. 
The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) is accepting expressions of interest (EOI) for projects to assist the Province of British Columbia in advancing the environmental and resource stewardship of British Columbia’s forests. These projects must occur on provincial crown land and support one or more of the core purposes of the Society, which include:
Drought and insects have killed an unprecedented number of Oregon’s Douglas fir trees during the last decade, costing billions in timber value, damaging infrastructure and ramping up wildfire danger. Beginning in 2015 and accelerating with the 2021 heat dome, roughly 635,000 acres of forest have been impacted by what’s known as Douglas fir “dieback” in southwest Oregon and the Willamette Valley. “It’s hitting trees of all sizes, but it’s hitting larger and older trees the hardest,” Max Bennett, a retired forest researcher with Oregon State University, told members of the Oregon Legislature on Sept. 30. “What we’re seeing now is unprecedented.” The dieback has led to $1.1 billion in lost timber value, $500 million in potential road hazard costs and created a tinderbox of forest fuel capable of spawning the West’s most destructive wildfires, a group of foresters and researchers told the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water.
Roughly 500 years ago in California’s High Sierra, pine cones dropped to the ground and a cycle began. …Half a millennia later, US Forest Service scientists began testing strategies to save these now ancient and massive trees in the little-known area east of Fresno called the Teakettle Experimental Forest. They had plans to light a huge prescribed burn to clear overgrowth next year. But then the Garnet Fire ignited and scorched all 3,000 federally protected acres on its path through the Sierra National Forest. …Scott Scherbinski, a biologist at the Climate & Wildfire Institute, said “It will be a start-over event for this forest.” …Malcolm North, a Forest Service ecologist said…fires with less intensity can be beneficial in California’s fire-adapted landscapes, but the Garnet Fire, when it burned through in September, may have killed most trees and sterilized the ground — making it unlikely the forest can rebound without intervention. [to access the full story a San Francisco Chronicle subscription is required]
Major agri-food companies including Nestle, Ferrero and Olam Agri have warned that European Union delays to its anti-deforestation law are endangering forests worldwide. The EU last month proposed delaying the launch of its anti-deforestation law for a second time, citing concerns about the readiness of information-technology systems needed to support the law. The delay could postpone the ban on imports of commodities such as palm oil linked to forest destruction for another year. The law faces major opposition from industry and EU trade partners such as the United States and Brazil. EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall said last week the delay was not linked to U.S. concerns about the policy. …Contrary to the EU’s aim of simplifying rules for business, any changes at this stage would introduce uncertainty, annoy shareholders and risk the rules being watered down further, the companies said. The EU deforestation law was due to take effect on December 30.