A tentative railway labour deal is reached in the US, averting harm to US and Canadian economies. The European Parliament voted to recognize wood biomass as a renewable energy source, phase down share of wood counted. In related news: the EU’s new forest strategy is welcomed by wood industries; wood pellet shortages cause prices to soar in France; and a Fort Nelson, BC First Nation agreement sets stage for new pellet facility.
In other news: BC commits to consultation on old growth recommendations; Northwest Territories forests absorb more carbon than they emit; a USDA grant will increase carbon storage in New England; the New South Wales government rejects call to end native logging in Australia; and Stora Enso is selling one of its paper mills in Sweden.
Finally, on his ‘raking-our-forests‘ comment, Esquire Magazine says Trump had a point.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Canada’s economy could be impacted by a possible railway strike south of the border that could halt the transportation of key imports and exports, experts warn. …Michael Gullo at the Business Council of Canada, said 70 per cent of Canadian exports are sold to U.S. buyers, and rail is crucial for the supply chain. …Rail trade between the U.S. and Canada accounts for 16 per cent of total cross-border trade. The Association of American Railroads estimates that a shutdown could cost the U.S. economy US$2 billion a day. Two of Canada’s largest railway companies, CN Rail and CP Rail, could face challenges in moving products across the border amid a strike. CN Rail derives 47 per cent of its revenue from its U.S. business, either through cross-border trade, or U.S. domestic operations. CP Rail is not a part of the NCCC and is not involved in labour negotiations.
The challenge faced by many salespeople is their inability to establish tangible value when the product sold is nothing more than a commodity. To that, I respond, “Nothing is a commodity.” The total cost of doing business is greater than the price. The products you sell are, of course, commodities. The moment they are unloaded, however, they are no longer commodities…at least in the hands of a capable sales leader. …Salespeople, with few arrows in their quivers, default to the path of least resistance and accommodate the pressure for “price first and ask questions later” business relationships. …Wise salespeople might not have the lowest price while still creating the lowest overall cost, and therefore greatest value. In other words, the products you sell may be commodities, but you’re not.
NEW YORK — Talks intensified Wednesday in hope of averting a freight railroad strike set for early Friday that could cripple the nation’s struggling supply chain and send prices higher for goods from gasoline to food to cars. Two rail unions, representing more than 50,000 engineers and conductors who make up the two-person crews that make the trains run, are threatening the first rail strike in 30 years as of 12:01 am ET Friday. Union leaders and the railroads’ labor negotiators were 
The price of wood pellets is soaring in France due to a growing shortage of the wood-burning stove and pellet stove fuel as people prepare early for winter and more households entering the wood pellet market. People who rely on the fuel may be facing an expensive winter if the trend continues, with stocks currently seeing “a risk of tension”. Propellet, the national wood pellet professionals group l’Association nationale des professionnels du chauffage aux granulés de bois, said that although “we are not yet in a total shortage situation, we are seeing a situation at risk of tension”. Demand rose earlier than usual this year, ahead of the start of the 2022 production. …Another factor is that more people are entering the pellet market every year. 
Gunnison County’s Land Use Resolution (LUR) now contains new building code adjustments in response to an increasing urban wildland interface, and the new codes will apply a higher standard of wildfire hazard mitigation to all new building permit applications beginning in 2023. 
BRUSSELS — The European woodworking industries find much to welcome in the new EU forest strategy passed today by the European Parliament. ‘A new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 – Sustainable Forest Management in Europe’ is clear in its recognition of the ability of wood products to both store carbon and substitute for more carbon intensive materials. At the same time these wood products are both renewable and recyclable. CEI-Bois & EOS particularly welcome the recognition that “wood is the only significant natural renewable resource that has the potential to replace some very energy-intensive materials, such as cement and plastics, and will be in greater demand in the future”. …Our industries echo the EU Parliament in underlining the importance of a reliable and sustainable supply of wood and forest-based biomass. 
The European parliament has called to end public subsidies for the environmentally destructive practice of burning trees for fuel, but campaigners warned the plans risked being “too little, too late”. Voting on an amendment to the EU’s renewable energy directive, MEPs called to “phase down” the share of trees counted as renewable energy in EU targets. But they swerved setting any dates to reduce the burning of “primary wood”. …The EU wants to expand renewable energy as fast as possible, as it seeks to accelerate the green transition and end dependence on Russian fossil fuels. MEPs voted for 45% of EU energy to come from renewable sources by 2030. …In a long-awaited vote on Wednesday, MEPs voted to end subsidies for “primary woody biomass”, namely healthy, standing trees logged for fuel, or fallen trees. …The vote sets the stage for negotiations between MEPs and the EU’s 27 national governments.
The U.S Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday funding for what’s being called a potentially transformational pilot program to help forest landowners in Maine and the rest of New England mitigate climate change. The goal of the program is to remove more carbon from the atmosphere by growing more and better quality wood, verifying the results and building markets for climate-friendly wood products. The New England Climate Smart Forest Partnership Project is one of 70 projects announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to sequester and store carbon and reduce other greenhouse gas emissions. “During the life of these projects, we’re hopeful of recording more than 50-million metric tons of CO2-equivalent reductions and greenhouse gas reductions and carbon sequestration benefits. That’s equal to about ten million cars being taken off the road,” Vilsack said.
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