Stimson Lumber is curtailing two Oregon mills to align operations with available fibre. In related news: Aspen Planers reopens amid cutting permit uncertainty; BC closures put pressure on Kruger’s pulp mill; Cascades upgrades its Piscataway mill; and Michigan approves support for Escanaba Mill. Meanwhile, BC’s Premier highlights import of trade; AF&PA announces new leadership; US job growth rebounds, and solid wood prices are sluggish, while pulp & paper and packaging are moving down.
In Forestry/Climate news: unplanned human ignitions cited for shifting Pacific Northwest fire regimes; ENGOs target urban sprawl in Vermont; EU industry groups call for heat pumps in paper mills; and firefighters battle wildfires in Cuba and Chile.
Finally, when it comes to restoring the world’s shrinking wetlands, look to the beaver.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
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…An investigation by a B.C. coroner’s panel found there were 619 heat-related deaths during the June 2021 week-long heat dome event. Nearly 98 per cent of the victims died indoors, mostly in homes without adequate cooling systems. That same observation could apply as well to construction rules in other parts of the country. A months-long Globe and Mail examination of building codes and bylaws across Canada shows that they lack provisions to help new buildings cope with the increasing rate and severity of hailstorms, floods, wildfires, tornadoes – and extreme heat. …But given that a changing climate will cause increasingly hotter weather, the panel also brought up a new recommendation: that the 2024 edition of the B.C. building code require new homes to have features that lessen the impact of extreme heat. This could be accomplished either through passive cooling, such as using sun-reflecting materials, or active cooling systems. [Access to this full story may require a subscription to the Globe and Mail]
Fear of fire in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy is holding back a switch to more sustainable building materials, a leading architect has told Sky News. Andrew Waugh of Waugh Thistleton Architects, which is at the forefront of eco-building design, said the construction industry and regulators are too cautious about using engineered timber in tall structures – even though the catastrophe was in a concrete tower. “We are being held back,” he said. “(The UK) were the innovators of this material before Grenfell happened. “Now we have a situation where the rest of the world are changing their building regulations, changing their planning laws and government procurement for housing, hospitals and schools to promote the use of timber. “And we are alone in the UK in not doing anything to promote the use of timber.” Mr Waugh designed the new six-storey Black and White Building, the UK’s tallest office block constructed from engineered timber.
We are a team of international scientists and educators partnering with Quesnel’s Forestry Initiatives Program (FIP). Quesnel is, in many ways, central to the changes occurring in BC. We arrived to UBC in 2018, to increase the Faculty of Forestry’s international research portfolio. Prior to moving to BC, we worked across the tropics, out of northern Australia. Our science involves maintaining long-term partnerships with people aspiring to address challenges in their landscapes. These are learning landscapes – where people exchange ideas, where they learn from each other. For three years, Quesnel’s FIP has welcomed us. They’ve hosted field schools for our Master of International Forestry students, researchers, and contributed to shaping our research questions both in BC and elsewhere (Indonesia, Cameroon etc.). …The FIP is meant to “address the multiple challenges facing our community.”
The forestry industry is seeing a large portion of its workforce retire without the ability to replace them, says a new study. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the sector is experiencing a labour force and skill shortage that is preventing it from realizing its full economic potential. If left unchecked, this shortage could negatively impact the socioeconomic standing of hundreds of communities across Ontario for years to come. To address this issue, Forests Ontario – the province’s leading charity dedicated to the creation, preservation, and maintenance of forest and grassland habitats – and the Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA), with support from an advisory committee, collaborated on Bridging the Gap Between Ontario’s Youth & the Provincial Forest Sector, an Employment Ontario research project (known simply as Bridging the Gap) funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.
Structure loss is an acute, costly impact of the wildfire crisis in the western United States, motivating the need to understand recent trends and causes. We document a 246% rise in West-wide structure loss from wildfires between 1999-2009 and 2010-2020, driven strongly by events in 2017, 2018, and 2020. Increased structure loss was not due to increased area burned alone. Wildfires became significantly more destructive, with a 160% higher structure loss rate (loss/kha burned) over the past decade. Structure loss was driven primarily by wildfires from unplanned human-related ignitions (e.g. backyard burning, power lines, etc.), which accounted for 76% of all structure loss and resulted in 10 times more structures destroyed per unit area burned compared to lightning-ignited fires. …Our findings highlight how fire regimes are fundamentally social-ecological phenomena. By resolving the diversity of Western fire regimes, our work informs regionally appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies. 
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…2022 was Europe’s hottest summer, leading to more than 20,000 excess deaths across western Europe, and this summer could be even worse. The effects may be felt most in our cities, which are on average 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than surrounding areas due to so-called urban heat islands (UHIs). That’s when building materials (concrete, asphalt, metal) and machinery (cars, trucks, air conditioning units) absorb and produce heat, turning city blocks into baking ovens. …there’s one powerful tool at our disposal that could help cool cities, reduce pollution and improve our mental and physical health: trees. …Increasing tree canopy cover to 30% of the city could reduce premature summer deaths in cities by about 40%… Cecil Konijnendijk, professor at the University of British Columbia, suggested a 3-30-300 rule: Everyone should be able to see 3 trees from their window, live in a neighborhood with 30% tree cover and be 300 meters from a green space. 
We are losing wetlands three times faster than forests, according to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. When it comes to restoring them to their natural state there is one hero with remarkable powers – the beaver. Wetlands store water, act as a carbon sink, and are a source of food. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands says they do more for humanity than all other terrestrial ecosystems – and yet they are disappearing at an alarming rate. The main problems are agricultural and urban expansion, as well as droughts and higher temperatures brought about by climate change. …These furry sharp-toothed rodents build dams on waterways to create a pond, inside which they build a “lodge” where they can protect themselves from predators. …”This transforms simple streams into thriving wetland ecosystems,” says Emily Fairfax, an ecohydrologist at California State University.
A collaboration between the Confederation of European Paper Industries (Cepi) and the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) is aiming to save 50% of energy used in paper manufacturing and assist its decarbonisation by implementing heat pumps into existing paper mills. Heat pumps provide around 10% of Europe’s industrial energy demand and help lower the industrial emissions of multiple sectors. Large heat pumps and steam compressors capable of heating up to 200°C have recently become commercially available in a development expected to suit the needs of the pulp and paper industry. …A joint 
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