Evacuations announced as California braces for a ‘parade of cyclones‘ and weather-swings uproot trees. In related news: what are atmospheric rivers? In other Business news: Skeena Sawmills to curtail operations in Terrace, BC; Anthony Timberlands pauses sawmill in Malvern Arkansas; Canada’s bank regulator weighs mortgage constraints, as high interest rates push lumber prices down and recession-risk up.
In other news: BC encouraged to scrap its stumpage system; Montana group sues to halt logging in grizzly habitat; the USDA appoints four to serve on the Softwood Lumber Board; and honors for Florida’s retiring state forester and Weyerhaeuser’s Jeff Grogan.
Finally, the first mass timber boutique hotel in North America wins award in Austin, Texas.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the appointment of four members to serve on the Softwood Lumber Board. The appointees will serve three-year terms, effective immediately, through Dec. 31, 2025. The newly appointed members are:
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The entire community of Montecito, California and surrounding canyons were ordered to evacuate Monday amid a deluge of rain that has flooded roads and swollen waterways. The evacuation order affecting about 10,000 people came on the fifth anniversary of a mudslide that killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in the coastal enclave. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said the decision to evacuate came “based on the continuing high rate of rainfall with no indication that that is going to change before nightfall.” Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor said at least 8 inches of rain had fallen in 12 hours, with several more inches expected. The canyon communities under evacuation orders are under hillsides burned bare in recent years by wildfires. Upscale Montecito is squeezed between mountains and the Pacific coast and home to celebrities such as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
It’s basically unanimous that whatever Canada’s economic foibles right now, they’re almost certainly going to get worse. All the usual suspects within Canadian banking have been forecasting a contraction of the economy since the fall, and some are guessing it’s already happening. …Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ditched his usual tack of pretending that everything is going great. …So what bone-chilling horrors will be brought to bear by the coming economic reckoning? Here’s a sampling:
The minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s December meeting along with various payroll reports last week caused lumber prices (along with other commodities) to fall. In its December minutes, the central bank stated it will keep the Fed funds rate “higher for longer” and the ADP private payroll report showed employers added 235,000 jobs in December, above the expected level of 200,000. The payroll reports support the Fed’s stance that interest rates will not be coming down any time soon. Higher interest rates mean higher mortgage rates and a slower housing market, so less demand for lumber. In fact, the price of the commodity is now below the average cost of production. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required].
Canada’s banking regulator will consider new constraints on firms’ mortgage lending in an attempt to protect the financial system, potentially adding more headwinds for the housing market. Superintendent of Financial Institutions Peter Routledge said a review of the country’s mortgage-underwriting rules that starts later this week will look beyond its current main measure — a stress test requiring borrowers to qualify for higher interest rates than what their banks are offering. …Bucking pressure to weaken its rules, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in December maintained the stress test, which requires borrowers seeking uninsured mortgages to qualify for their loans at a rate two percentage points higher than the bank’s offered rate or 5.25 per cent, whichever is higher. 
DUBAI, UAE — The global construction industry’s future looks promising, with opportunities in residential, non-residential, and infrastructure sector. The global construction industry is expected to reach $10.5 trillion by 2023, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 4.2% between 2018 and 2023. The major drivers of this market’s growth are rising housing starts and rising infrastructure as a result of increasing urbanisation and population growth. Emerging trends that have a direct impact on the dynamics of the construction industry include a rise in the need for green construction to reduce carbon footprint, bridge lock-up device systems to improve structure life, building information systems for efficient building management, and the use of cutting-edge technologies. In more detail: Robotics… Green building… Remote worksites… Modular design… Use of rented equipment.
The chief goal of the Southern Group of State Foresters (SGSF) is to ensure the health and sustainability of the South’s nearly 250 million acres of forestland. Rapid population growth and resulting urbanization, however, is putting 23 million acres of southern forestland at risk of loss. This statistic, though, does not need to be a death sentence for southern forests. Research has shown the presence of markets for forest products helps landowners manage their forests, adds value to their forests and helps maintain forest profitability so that landowners can keep their forests as forests. In the South, private landowners own 86 percent of southern forestland. Two-thirds of these landowners are families and individuals. SGSF continues to promote traditional and emerging markets for forests products. …Recent legislation in support of forests includes… the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act which combined are an unprecedented investment in our nation’s forests. 
