The Oregon Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in a $1 billion lawsuit over timber revenue. In related news: BC’s Premier criticizes logging opponents; EPA’s 2018 declaration on wood energy is panned; the US Forest Service experiments with ‘assisted migration‘; and new tech aims to boost carbon market integrity.
In other news: Swedish firm Setra makes pellets from wood waste; wood thieves thrive as Europe braces for winter; Japan and Australia collaborate on the world’s tallest timber tower; Vancouver Island University’s mass timber innovation; and two wood-hybrid construction stories (with steel and with concrete). On the Market front: SYP lumber prices stabilize; and US single-family permits decline.
Finally, BC and Saskatchewan mark National Forest Week, which kicks off today.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
German toilet paper maker Hakle is turning to waste from coffee production to stay afloat, reported Manila Times. Two years ago, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the firm profited from a huge demand in essentials – such as toilet paper. But with the health crisis abating, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked skyrocketing energy costs, forcing Hakle to file for insolvency. It has therefore turned to innovative solution. Huge quantities of coffee grounds are produced every year by the European food industry, and Hakle has found a way to transform the waste into material to make loo roll. The first rolls using the new process were produced at the Duesseldorf-based company’s factory last week. …”The goal is 20 to 25%” of coffee grounds constituting the material for making the paper, replacing wood pulp, said Jung.
JUNEAU – Rep. Kreiss-Tomkins and Rep. Ortiz voiced their support today for the Department of Natural Resources and the Division of Forestry’s plan to develop a local lumber grading training program in Alaska, similar to Wisconsin’s Local Use Dimension Lumber (WLUDL) grading certification. This initiative will increase marketability of second-growth forest products produced in Alaska to preserve industry jobs, expand the current sustainable local lumber market, lower home-building costs, and stimulate rural economies. Despite high demand for locally-sourced dimensional lumber, small Alaskan sawmills cannot sell their lumber for load-bearing construction purposes such as one- and two-family residential units. The State of Alaska’s building codes require lumber to be graded and stamped but Alaska does not currently have a local grading or self-certification option. The majority of wood used for residential construction must therefore be sourced from the Lower 48 or Canada.
PORTLAND, Oregon — The Oregon Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from 13 counties in a long-running $1 billion lawsuit over timber revenue. The denial ends a six-year legal battle over logging practices on 700,000 acres and is a victory for the state Department of Forestry and environmental groups. The decision leaves in place a lower court ruling saying that Oregon can manage forests for a range of values that include recreation, water quality and wildlife habitat — not just logging revenue. …The counties gave forestland to the state decades ago and Oregon manages the land and funnels timber revenue to the counties. But 13 counties took Oregon to court, alleging the state was not maximizing logging on the forests. A Linn County jury found in the counties’ favor in 2019 and awarded more than $1 billion in damages, but an appeals court struck down the verdict earlier this year.
The lawns are dead. Trees that should be green have turned brittle and brown. And highway signs caution drivers not to flick cigarettes out the window. These conditions have become the norm of summer and its high fire risk in the western US. But this is not California. This is New Jersey. Data from the 
The UK beer industry is under threat, as rising carbon dioxide (CO2) prices could impact production – and even cause a shortage of the beverage ahead of the busy Christmas season. CO2 plays a crucial role in the beer-making process, from carbonation to packaging, meaning brewers are facing the pressure to meet costs. Carbon Herald reports prices of the gas have currently peaked at £2,800 per tonne. Three months ago, producers were paying £250 per metric tonne of CO2. The production of CO2 has been impacted partly due to rising wholesale gas prices. As the gas is a bi-product of fertiliser, the rising costs meant many fertiliser plants in the UK were forced to close. Last month, US fertiliser group CF Industries – which produces about a third of this country’s supply of CO2 – announced it would be shutting down its ammonia plant in the UK.
In 2018, the EPA Declared That Burning Wood Is Carbon Neutral. …The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would begin to count the burning of “forest biomass”—a.k.a. wood—as carbon neutral. The change will classify burning of wood pellets a renewable energy similar to solar or wind power. [But] Even if a tree is planted for every tree converted to fuel pellets, trees regrown on plantations don’t store the same carbon as natural forests. One recent 
