Researchers say the idea that trees can communicate, share resources and protect their seedlings is intriguing but unproven. In other Forestry news: a Californian goes to jail for setting wildfires, Washington wants to sell carbon credits; Oregon ups penalties for assaulting rangers; and Purdue University secures grant to help forest landowners.
In other news: Canada’s freight railways are cost efficient; BC’s Top Employers include forest notables; and an Alberta advisory group offers eye-opening forestry insights. Meanwhile: perspectives on using biomass to produce power; truck driver logging devices introduced in BC; Mosaic thrives on sustainability, and Paper Excellence contributes to salmon restoration.
Finally, Spring is early in the east and despite its dark origins, Happy Valentine’s Day!
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
*Please note: our website server will be performing maintenance between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm PST which may cause service interruptions.
President Joe Biden mentioned his plan to require more US-manufactured materials in federal construction and federally-funded state and local building. Now the Office of Management and Budget has set out a 
t̓išosəm, qathet Regional District – Tla’amin Timber Products in its capacity as general partner of Thichum Forest Products, has reached an asset purchase agreement with GDF Ventures Ltd to acquire woodlot license 1671 (WL-1671). WL-1671 is an area based provincial Crown forestry tenure located in the ɬaʔamɩn Nation territory. The woodlot supports an annual harvest cut of 4,715 cubic meters per year. “Doug Fuller, the previous holder of the license, demonstrated a high level of pride and ownership in this woodlot”, said Adam Culos, General Manager of Thichum Forest Products. “This tenure acquisition and management opportunity within our territory strongly supports our strategic direction. Our vision is to develop an interpretive forest on this site which we can pass down knowledge and best practices throughout generations as we look to improve on current management practices in the BC forestry sector”. The term on the new licence begins immediately.
In the eyes of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, one big thing is missing from the state’s climate policies. Recent laws don’t allow the state agency to sell carbon credits. …Franz is pushing legislation that would add the state agency she leads to organizations that can freely sell carbon credits and create carbon offset projects. …[which] would save taxpayer dollars and generate money that would fund natural resource investments, like forest health and post-wildfire restoration projects, Franz said. …Those projects also could slow revenues for counties and ports that rely on working forests, said Doug Cooper,VP at Hampton Lumber, at the bill’s public hearing on Friday. The problem with the legislation’s wording, industry foresters said, is it doesn’t account for all the downstream revenues working forests provide. …However, Franz countered that carbon offset projects, such as reforestation and restoration efforts, could expand working forest land.
Australia has decided that electricity generated by burning wood from primary forests can no longer be considered renewable energy. …Opponents also have their eyes on Europe, where wood pellet use is large and growing. Wood pellet opponents and pellet makers and users are lobbying European officials over proposed policy changes that could alter the viability, or at least the economics, of the industry here in the U.S. …Last summer, the European Parliament approved proposed revisions to the European Union’s renewable energy rules that would limit the use of biomass. …However, before it can become law the proposal has to go through a three-way negotiation between the parliament and the EU’s two other main governmental arms. …The US Pellet Association said wood is essential to meet EU climate goals and safeguards are working. The association points to several peer-reviewed studies that it says refute environmentalists’ claims.
IDAHO — The idea of using biomass or non-recyclable materials to produce power has been around for a long time, but techniques for developing a consistent feedstock to produce a fuel that is economical compared to coal, resistant to moisture, and has no spontaneous combustion in storage has been a daunting challenge. Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory, working with Michigan Technological University and Convergen Energy, a company based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, have pioneered a technique for combining non-recyclable plastics and paper fiber that would otherwise end up in landfills to form pellets with an energy content like bituminous coal. …On the other side of the equation, paper products, while biodegradable, decompose in landfills to create methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Combining paper and plastic to form stable feedstocks that can substitute for coal and reduce landfill mass would be a green energy win-win.
