The unions and US freight railroads continue talks as possible strike looms. In other news: Louisiana Pacific invests in Northern Maine mill; the US housing correction is far from over, but a recession may see lumber rally in the Spring; and July construction updates for Canada and the US.
In Forestry/Climate news: BC’s 2022 area burned is one-sixth the 20-year average; herbicide spraying divides communities in BC’s north; a Swedish study seeks to predict how climate change threatens forests; Bill Gates says financial incentives are needed to save forests; and the number of Amazon fires hits five-year high. Finally, it must be Friday before a long weekend with headlines like these:
- US Forestry guide resurfaces that details how to blow up a horse
- Timber used to conceal 150kg of imported drugs donated to woodworkers
- Cell tower disguised as giant tree likened to gigantic toilet brush
- Scientists are unlocking secrets of why forests make us happy
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
The remaining unions that are still negotiating with the freight railroads on a new labor contract are grappling over wages and benefits, while a union coalition’s survey points to broad potential support for a strike. Meetings last week between labor and the freight railroads didn’t lead to any tentative agreement language that the operating crafts could accept, according to a joint statement from the heads of two of the larger rail unions. However, union representatives “remain committed” to negotiations over key issues such as wages, quality of life, attendance and voluntary time off, said Dennis Pierce… and Jeremy Ferguson. …While BLET and SMART-TD were unable last week to reach a tentative agreement with the freight railroads, three smaller unions — the Transportation Communications Union (TCU)/IAM, Brotherhood of Railway Carmen and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers — did.
This spring, the Fed dusted off the ole inflation-fighting playbook to curtail inflation. The housing correction phase, of course, has already begun. Regardless of what you call it—a housing correction, housing recession, or housing downturn—it is far from over. Just look at mortgage rates. Heading into the year, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate sat at 3.1%. That’s long gone. On Thursday, 
As the winter approaches, new home construction tends to decline, weighing on lumber demand. There is an element of seasonality in the lumber market as it reached the $448 low in August 2021 with the fall and winter on the horizon. However, in 2022, the upcoming offseason faces rising interest rates. At the end of 2021, thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage rates were below the 3% level, and they recently were over 6%. …As the central bank’s policies have consistently been reactive instead of proactive, they run the risk of suddenly reversing to a more dovish stance if GDP continues to decline. The Fed continues to utter hawkish squawks, but the dovish coos could be on the horizon. Lumber prices will likely continue to be highly sensitive to interest rates and could provide signals for other commodity prices. …The trend remains lower in early September, but wood prices will follow the economic data over the coming months.
UNITED KINGDOM — The Wood Awards has announced 
Join us for the 20th Anniversary of the BCCFA and the 2022 Conference and AGM in Nakusp this fall! We look forward to welcoming our members, colleagues and partners to join us October 19th -21st. This is our first in person event since 2019, and it will be great to be together again to learn, network and celebrate the accomplishments of community forests. ABCFP members are eligible for Continuing Professional Development credits. The Justice Institute of BC workshop will introduce concepts and skills for increasing effective communication and reducing negotiation impasse. The workshop is open to everyone. Two pre-conference tours will feature Kootenay innovation – the Kalesnikoff mass timber mill and the fuel reduction treatments at SIFCo in Slocan Valley. Program details will be posted on the 
British Columbians should remain alert to the threat of wildfires as conditions remain warm and dry throughout September. Seasonal and above-seasonal temperatures forecast for September mean that wildfire risk remains a concern throughout the province. New wildfire starts are anticipated, however, the BC Wildfire Service has adequate resources and is prepared to activate additional resources if required. As of Aug. 31, 2022, there were 182 active wildfires in the province. There is currently one wildfire of note, the Fat Dog Creek wildfire (V12147) in EC Manning Provincial Park. The BC Wildfire Service is also responding to a wildfire five kilometres southwest of the Hudson’s Hope bridge in the Prince George Fire Centre. Since April 1, 2022, there have been 1,355 wildfires in B.C. that have resulted in 43,000 hectares burned. As many as 75% of the fire starts can be attributed to lightning. …B.C. is currently experiencing one of the lowest human-caused wildfire seasons since 1950. 
CAMPBELL RIVER — Forests Minister Katrine Conroy says it’s been a below-average wildfire season so far this year in British Columbia, but high fire risks are forecast for September. She says the number of wildfires and the area they have burned since April both compare favourably with the 20-year average, with 1,355 fires charring 430 square kilometres this year. That is only about one-sixth of the area burned by 1,515 fires to this date on average, and one-twentieth of the 8,650 square kilometres burned last year, when the province was scorched by the heat-dome weather event. Conroy says 93 per cent of this season’s fires have been extinguished or are under control. Neil McLoughlin, a B.C. Wildfire Service spokesman, says up to 75 per cent of B.C. wildfires were caused by lightning this season, with 98,000 strikes recorded in August.
It’s clear that the climate crisis is affecting global ecosystems — but exactly how and where that will happen next is difficult to estimate. A team of researchers have compared and synthesized different methodological approaches in order to predict how climate change will threaten the globe’s forests. The 
If you are handling or processing combustible dusts, you will have heard of National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 652: Standard on Fundamentals of Combustible Dusts. …By now you should have completed the mandated DHA (Dust Hazards Analysis) and acted on the findings, but what if your powder is non-standard? Does it have a broad particle size distribution? Maybe it is a mixture of other powders or you’re handling multiple powders such that testing becomes factorially uneconomic? And what if your industry has its own NFPA combustible dust standards? There are some five industry and/or commodity-specific dust explosion standards; which one should you use when there is contradiction? This FREE WEBINAR presentation sets out a path to gaining a proper understanding of your dust explosion risks, even when the risks presented by your powders are more complicated or difficult to ascertain than usual. Date: October 13, 2022
BRAZIL — More fires burned in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest this August than in any month in nearly five years, thanks to a surge in illegal deforestation. Satellite sensors detected 33,116 fires according to Brazil’s national space institute. The dry season months of August and September are usually worst for both deforestation and fire. It was also the worst August for fire in 12 years. That includes August of 2019, when images of the burning rainforest shocked the world and drew criticism from European leaders. …The president downplayed the raging fires then and continues to do so today. He told media network Globo on Aug. 22 — the worst single day for outbreaks of fire in 15 years — that the criticism is part of an effort to undermine the nation’s agribusiness sector.