Daily News for September 02, 2025

Today’s Takeaway

US Appeals Court says many of Trump’s tariffs are illegal

The Tree Frog Forestry News
September 2, 2025
Category: Today's Takeaway

The US Court of Appeals ruled that many of Trump’s tariffs are illegal, but Treasury Secretary Bessent expects the Supreme Court to rule otherwise (and he has a backup plan if it doesn’t). In related news: Bessent said Trump may declare a national housing emergency this fall to tackle affordability; lumber futures fell to a four-month low; and US consumer sentiment fell 6% in August. In other Business news: San Group’s credit-protection process requires more time; UK’s Kingspan Timber is closing after 60 years; and wildfires are hurting tourism in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

In Forestry/Wildfire news: Ottawa is just over a 10th of the way to is 2 billion tree planting goal; debate continues over proposed changes to the US Roadless Rule; misinformation helped kill Oregon’s wildfire risk map; ENGOs call for an end to native logging in New South Wales, Australia; and wildfire updates from Saskatchewan and Oregon.

Finally, the history and future direction of wood science, and Portland’s proposed mass-timber research and manufacturing campus.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor 

Read More

Business & Politics

U.S. Court of Appeals rules many of Trump’s tariffs are illegal

By Joe Walsh
CBS News
August 30, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

A federal appeals court said Friday that many of the sweeping tariffs imposed by President Trump on dozens of countries earlier this year are not legally permissible. The ruling will not immediately block the tariffs, but it marks a significant blow to Mr. Trump’s trade strategy. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a lower court decision that found many of Mr. Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods exceeded his power under federal economic emergency laws. However, the appellate judges vacated the lower court’s injunction blocking the tariffs altogether, directing the court to reevaluate whether universal relief is appropriate. The ruling applies to a series of April executive orders that imposed 10% baseline tariffs on virtually every country and higher “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of trading partners. It also applies to a separate set of tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China.

In related coverage:

Read More

Tourism operators’ bottom line burned by another summer of wildfires

By Lauren Krugel
The Canadian Press in BNN Bloomberg
September 1, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada

CALGARY — Fewer tourists are coming to Jasper, Alberta than usual this year, but it’s not for a lack of people eager to visit the picturesque Rocky Mountain town. Numbers are about as good as they can be, considering about one-fifth of the town’s overnight accommodations burned when a ferocious wildfire swept through last summer, said Tourism Jasper CEO Tyler Riopel. …As the Jasper recovery continues, tourism operators affected by wildfires elsewhere this year are struggling. Northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been particularly hard hit, which has taken a toll on outfitting businesses that cater to hunters and fishers. Roy Anderson, acting CEO of the Saskatchewan Commission of Professional Outfitters, said his group is surveying members to quantify the financial impact. “We’re talking millions of dollars in terms of lost revenue at a minimum,” he said.

Read More

Monitor responsible for selling forestry company assets applies for more time

By Andrew Duffy
Victoria Times Colonist
September 2, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada West

The monitor overseeing the credit-protection process for San Group, a Langley-based forestry company with debts in excess of $150 million, has applied to the courts for an extension of the process in order to complete the sale of the company’s assets. Deloitte Restructuring has asked the courts to extend the process to Oct. 31. It currently expires Sept. 5. …According to the monitor’s ninth report to the courts, filed this week, the sale of three San Group properties has now closed, and only a Langley farm remains of the major assets. The sale of the Coulson Mill in Port Alberni closed June 20 with proceeds of $12.06 million, the Langley mill site closed July 15, netting $12.37 million, and the Port Alberni value-added facility sale closed July 29, netting $8.25 million. On top of that, Tradewest Asset Solutions has now completed the sale of all of San Group’s remaining inventory, which resulted in $1.178 million being added to the pile.

Read More

Trump Weighs Declaring National Housing Emergency to Tackle High Housing Costs, Bessent Says

By Skylar Woodhouse
Bloomberg Politics
September 1, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration may declare a national housing emergency this fall as the White House looks to highlight key issues for midterm campaign voters. …Bessent said housing affordability would be a critical leg of Republicans’ 2026 midterm election platform. Bessent declined to list any specific actions the president may take, but he suggested that administration officials are directly studying ways to standardize local building and zoning codes and decrease closing costs. President Trump has repeatedly used emergency declarations to avoid having to send legislation to Congress for approval. Some of those, particularly the emergency law he cited to institute his tariff regime, have faced pushback in federal court. …Trump also spoke out on the issue during the campaign and said he wants to open up federal land for housing development and pledged to help with affordability by eliminating regulations.

In related coverage:

Read More

Kingspan Timber Solutions announces closure

By Stephen Powney
The Timber Trades Journal
September 2, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: International

©Kingspan

Timber sector representatives have been reacting to the news that one of the pioneers in UK timber construction- Kingspan Timber Solutions – is to close by the end of the year. The company, whose roots extend to over 60 years, manufactures timber frame and Structurally Insulated Panel (SIPs) build systems, the latter being the TEK branded system. Kingspan Timber Solutions, based in Great Gransden in Cambridgeshire, has been described as a gold standard in timber construction, building innovative homes, Passivhaus developments and new schools. …The company released a short statement this week. “It is with a heavy heart that we have made the difficult decision announce the closure of Kingspan Timber Solutions Ltd, and the cessation of all business operations. We are currently working hard to fulfil all outstanding orders, with our final day of operations being 19th December 2025. …In the past five years, 2021 was the only year that the company posted a profit.

Read More

Finance & Economics

Lumber Futures Prices Fall to Near 4-Month Low

Trading Economics
September 1, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada, United States

Lumber futures fell to $550 per thousand board feet in September, the lowest in nearly four months, amid softer demand for new home building and ample supply. US building permits fell 2.2% in July to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.362 million, the lowest since June 2020. Although the market anticipates a potential rate cut in September, rates are expected to remain restrictive, and high inflation expectations are expected to support long-maturity yields, which dictate mortgage costs. Seasonal slowdown in construction is set to magnify the drop in housing construction. On the supply side, Canadian mills continue to push large volumes of surplus lumber into the US market, far exceeding actual demand and creating an oversupply situation. Additionally, ongoing tariff issues between the US and Canada add further uncertainty, as potential changes in trade policy could significantly affect US lumber prices.›

Read More

US consumer sentiment confirmed its early-month reading, moving down about 6% from July

By Joanne Hsu, Director
The University of Michigan
September 2, 2025
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Consumer sentiment confirmed its early-month reading, moving down about 6% from July. Sentiment now stands about 11% above readings from April and May but remains at least 10% below 6 and 12 months ago. This month’s decrease was visible across groups by age, income, and stock wealth. Moreover, perceptions of many aspects of the economy slipped. …Expectations for business conditions and labor markets contracted in August as well. That said, expectations for personal finances held steady this month, albeit at relatively subdued levels relative to a year ago. …Year-ahead inflation expectations moved up from 4.5% last month to 4.8% this month. This rise was seen across multiple demographic groups. …This month ended two consecutive months of receding inflation for short-run expectations and three straight months for long-run expectations. Still, both readings remain well below the highs seen briefly in April and May 2025.

Read More

Wood, Paper & Green Building

Lab to develop future of timber construction getting closer to reality in Northwest Portland

By Tristin Hoffman
The Oregonian
August 29, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

A marine terminal that once shipped Oregon’s wood and steel will soon research and manufacture mass timber in an effort to ease Oregon’s housing costs and address the state’s housing shortage. The Port of Portland’s Terminal 2, a 39-acre concrete lot sitting largely empty in the city’s Northwest Industrial District, is being readied for at least $15 million worth of soil treatments next year to ensure the riverfront site is on stable ground before it transforms into a mass-timber research and manufacturing campus. While the campus’ first phase of construction should finish in 2028, the Port of Portland told U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, at a site visit Monday, millions in funding gaps muddy the campus’ second phase. …The facility is set to house Switzerland mass-timber company Zaugg Timber Solutions, the University of Oregon’s acoustic research laboratory and small industry-related companies to expand mass-timber development, research and uses.

Read More

From forestry schools to wood physics as a scientific discipline: a review of historical milestones and future directions of wood science

By Dick Sandberg and Peter Niemz
Researchgate.net
August 30, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

This overview traces the modern history of wood science and technology, particularly from the European perspective. It begins with the early forestry schools in 18th-century Germany, which influenced the founding of similar institutions worldwide. These schools introduced technical subjects, including wood physics, to meet industrial demand, especially from the mining sector. Before formal studies began, early research on wood properties, including moisture relations and strength, appeared in encyclopaedias. With the Industrial Revolution, interest in wood as a construction material grew, linking wood research to engineering and materials science. In the early 20th century, dedicated wood technology institutes marked the birth of wood science as a distinct discipline. …The future of wood science lies in sustainability and the efficient use of resources. As interest in renewable, bio-based alternatives to steel and concrete grows, further research on wood functionalisation and modification will be vital. 

Read More

Forestry

Canada has pledged to plant 2 billion trees. Here’s how close we are

By Robin Della Corte
The Canadian Press in CP24 News
August 31, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

The Government of Canada says it is just over a 10th of the way to its goal of planting two billion trees across the country. Launched in 2021, Canada’s 2 Billion Trees program has reached the milestone of 228 million trees planted, with agreements already in place to plant a total of nearly one billion within the coming years. As of June, 11 provinces and territories, 58 Indigenous partners, 30 municipalities and 88 non-governmental organizations has signed or are negotiating tree-planting agreements. The program aims to protect crucial wildlife habitat, restore areas impacted by wildfires and sequester carbon. …Some of these initiatives include creating at least 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas and 15 new urban parks, as well as designating 30 per cent Canada’s land and water as conservation areas by 2030. The federal government has also committed to reach an emissions reduction target of 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.

Read More

BC First Nations Forestry Council August Newsletter

BC First Nations Forestry Council
August 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

In this newsletter you’ll find these stories and more:

  • Message from the CEO, Lennard (Suxʷsxʷwels) Joe: “Advancing international partnerships in Australia, delivering new workforce tools in Quesnel and Williams Lake, and engaging youth in hands-on forestry experiences. …Our Policy team is ensuring First Nations voices are at the table in provincial and national forestry processes.”
  • I Am Forestry — Meet Shane Harsh, a proud member of the Skidegate Band from Haida Gwaii… As Vice President of Specialty Products at Woodtone and HaiCo board member
  • Forest Governance: Policy Team ensures First Nations’ voices are at the center of forestry decision-making in British Columbia. 
  • Trade Mission Insights from Rob Manuel, BCFNFC Business Development Strategic Advisor

Read More

New forestry group ‘branching’ out

The Columbia Valley Pioneer
September 2, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada West

A new forestry organization is branching out in its goal to become an ‘impartial’ provider of information pertaining to the role forestry plays in all walks of life. Steve Kozuki from Forestry Works for BC Society gave a presentation to the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) to let directors know what the group hopes to accomplish. Kozuki said the forest sector has been the recipient of a lot of criticism over the years, with people getting the idea that forests are disappearing or being logged out of existence, which is “not true.” But he noted the sector shares common concerns about climate change, housing and health care. Kozuki said the Society wants to get non-forest sector people involved in the industry which has promoted the financial and economic benefits of forestry and the jobs it provides. …He … reminded regional directors that “we all depend on a strong forest sector.”

Similar coverage in the Penticton Herald: ForestryWorksForBC makes another case for forestry

Read More

A walk through the Cai Creek watershed, about to be logged

By Neighbours United
Nelson Star
August 29, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Local forests like Cai Creek, rich in biodiversity, cultural heritage, and tourism value, are disappearing across the province. …The at-risk cutblock is situated in the Cai Creek drainage area, just east of Crowsnest Highway 3, above Ootischenia.The hike was led by Matt Casselman, a local biologist and founder of the Save Cai Creek campaign. …“Cai Creek is a mostly intact watershed with no resource roads or recent logging, something that is increasingly rare in the West Kootenays. Intact forests should be protected because they offer areas of refuge for wildlife, and are more resilient to climate change,” says Casselman. …“The BCTS logging and road plans for Cai Creek extend across the whole drainage and will irreversibly disrupt the forest and its ecosystems,” says Casselman. …However, Cai Creek is not considered old growth by the Ministry of Forests and has no protections from logging.

Read More

We can do something about stressed-out forests

By Robert Bonnie, University of California, Berkeley
The New York Times
August 31, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Under the 2001 Roadless Rule enacted by President Bill Clinton, millions of acres of roadless areas on national forests across the country are conserved, protecting vital habitats and watersheds. A “blank spot on a map,” in the words of the naturalist Aldo Leopold, is increasingly valuable in our urbanizing society. …The current administration is right to look for ways to address the growing wildfire threat in these areas. But instead of doing away with the Roadless Rule, the White House should look to a simple way to make our forests more resilient to wildfire without compromising the other benefits. …One way to allow forest thinning and prescribed burns to reduce the wildfire threat is to amend the roadless rule… to permit temporary roads in roadless areas that are near neighborhoods along the wildland-urban interface to allow for forest thinning or other ecological restoration. [to access the full story a NY Times subscription is required]

Read More

Native leaders to hold two-week campaign against Roadless Rule repeal

By Lorilyn Lirio
The Journal of Olympia, Lacey & Tumwater
September 1, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Indigenous leaders from Se’Si’Le and Lummi Nation’s House of Tears Carvers are launching a two-week campaign across the Pacific Northwest in response to the Trump administration’s plan to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a policy that has protected vast lands of national forest for more than two decades. The campaign, called “Xaalh and the Way of the Masks,” will kick off with a rally in Olympia on Sept. 8, followed by eight other events across a 1,700-mile journey through tribal lands, houses of worship, colleges and public gathering places. …tribal leaders emphasized that protective measures, such as the Roadless Rule have safeguarded approximately 2 million acres of wild forests in both Oregon and Washington, drinking water for more than 60 million Americans, and habitat for more than 1,6000 threatened and endangered plants and animals.  …the campaign is intended to unite native nations, faith leaders and environmental organizations in defense of forests…

Read More

How the Rapid Spread of Misinformation Pushed Oregon Lawmakers to Kill the State’s Wildfire Risk Map

By Rob Davis
Oregon Capital Insider
September 1, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

A year after Oregon endures its most destructive fire season on record in 2020, state lawmakers order a map estimating the wildfire risk for every property in the state. It’s the kind of rating now available on real estate sites like Zillow. The state wants to use the results to decide where it will apply forthcoming codes for fire-resistant construction and protections around homes. Around the same time, insurance companies start dropping Oregon homeowners’ policies and raising premiums to limit future losses, much as they have done in other disaster-prone states. Insurers have their own sophisticated risk maps to guide them, but some brokers instead tell homeowners the blame lies with the map. The belief gets treated as fact both on social media and in mainstream news — even though insurers and regulators say it’s not true. …By the time the state pulls back the map, the myths about it have gained so much momentum there’s no stopping them. 

Read More

Forestry Corporation of New South Wales accused of logging breaches in Tallaganda State Forest

By Alasdair McDonald & Joshua Becker
ABC News, Australia
August 28, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: International

AUSTRALIA — Conservationists are calling for native forest logging to be abolished in New South Wales (NSW), after the state’s environment regulator launched a court action against the Forestry Corporation of NSW for allegedly breaching laws designed to protect an endangered species on the south coast. …The alleged offences include failing to properly search for and identify glider den trees before logging, failing to replace hollow-bearing and other retaining trees that were damaged or felled, and damaging the habitat of a threatened species. …In 2022, the company was fined for logging hollow-bearing trees in the Brooman State Forest near Ulladulla, and in 2023 it was fined for committing the same offence in a part of Mogo State Forest that was badly burnt during the Black Summer bushfires.

Read More

Forest Fires

Long Lake wildfire remains out of control at 8,465 hectares

By Jennifer Heudes
CTV News Saskatoon
September 1, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

©Govt of Nova Scotia

The Long Lake wildfire that started August 13 has destroyed 20 homes in Nova Scotia is still out of control, but its size has not changed in the last day. On Monday, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said the Long Lake fire is estimated to be 8,465 hectares in size. “The southern end of the fire is the most active area and fire intensity increased with wind today. Helicopters are dropping water on this area so ground crews can safely enter to continue tying up the perimeter and advance inward on the fire,” said DNR in an update on social media. The department said Manitoba’s CL415 planes are being released and will be replaced by two black hawk helicopters which they say are more effective for current needs. …As of Monday, DNR said there have been no new reports of damage.

Read More

Flat Fire in Oregon, Update for September 1, 2025

Central Oregon Fire Info
September 1, 2025
Category: Forest Fires
Region: US West

©Govt of Oregon Flickr

SISTERS, Ore.  — The Flat Fire, approximately two miles northeast of Sisters, Oregon, is estimated at 23,346 acres and is 52% contained. Despite critical fire weather, established fire lines have remained secure and suppression repair objectives continue across the incident. The Red Flag Warning is no longer in effect due to a lower chance of strong gusty winds. Hot, dry conditions persist. Today, firefighters will focus on restoring areas impacted by fire response efforts, such as repairing dozer lines and reducing erosion risks. These initiatives strengthen containment and protect the landscape to support long-term recovery. With a unified mission across the fire line, crews continue to make steady progress, bringing the incident closer to full suppression. Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) resources have demobilized from the Flat Fire. Cooperative firefighting efforts from structural, wildland, and air resources protected homes through extreme fire activity and critical weather conditions. 

Related Content in the Register-Guard by Miranda Cyr: Oregon wildfires: Emigrant Fire continues to grow, conditions expected to worsen

Read More