Mosaic Forest Management appointed Rob Gough as its President and CEO effective September 1. In other Business news: Conifex Timber is reducing operations at its Mackenzie sawmill; a documentary on John Brink (of Brink Forest Products) gets greenlit; the Canfor/Arbios joint venture has a new name; and Södra is reducing its EU lumber production. In Market news, updates by ERA’s Kevin Mason, mortgage financer Fannie Mae, and StockCalc’s Brian Donovan.
In Forestry/Climate news: U of New Brunswick researchers study seedling growth at different temperatures; the US Forest Service plans to protect sequoias from fire; an EU satellite measures forest carbon storage; and the UK aims to ensure adequate wood pellet supplies for heating.
Finally, when is breaking the law justified? Rarely according to these two professionals.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
VANCOUVER, BC — Conifex Timber announced that it is reducing its operating schedule to a one-shift basis at its Mackenzie, British Columbia sawmill commencing August 29, 2022. The reduction is the result of acute transportation challenges that have afflicted the overall industry since about November 2021, and which continue to persist. The reduced operating schedule is planned for up to six weeks. …It is anticipated that the reduced operating schedule will impact production capacity by approximately 26 million board feet. “The decision to reduce our operating schedule was difficult, and we regret the impact this may have on our employees, their families, and the community,” said Ken Shields, Chairman and CEO. …Conifex continues to work with its engineers and contractors on a work plan to resume operations at its power plant. Conifex currently expects to resume power generation in or about late October 2022.
WASHINGTON, DC — The federal government is seeking to roll up three suits over U. S. Customs and Border Protection determinations that plywood importers tried to avoid tariffs on Chinese boards by importing them through Vietnam, saying consolidation will avoid complications later on. The U. S. Court of International Trade already agreed consolidate two cases, brought by importers Far East American Inc. and Liberty Woods International Inc. and by American Pacific Plywood Inc. earlier in August. In their Friday motion, attorneys for the federal government asked to add one more, a suit from InterGlobal Forest LLC. The complaints all challenge the same agency actions. [to access the full story a Law360 subscription is required]
As California braces for another potentially devastating wildfire season, state officials and some environmental advocates are finding hope for forests in an unexpected place: a new sawmill under construction near Lake Tahoe. Tahoe Forest Products, LLC broke ground last month on a $10 million sawmill in Carson City, Nevada… It will be the first sawmill of its size to be built in the area in nearly a century… Many scientists say forest-thinning projects are urgently needed in the face of climate change, and the new mill’s supporters believe it will make a major impact in managing wildfires in a heavily wooded region that was threatened just last year by a massive blaze. “My jaw dropped when I heard the news,” said Forest Schafer, director with the California Tahoe Conservancy. “It’s really rare to see a success like this that will make a real difference in Lake Tahoe overall.”
Canada is the second-largest exporter of wood products in the world, after China, with lumber being our dominant export. …The United States produces 40 billion board feet and consumes 60 billion board feet of lumber on average each year, with most of the difference coming from Canada, where we produce 25 billion board feet annually. …During recessionary times, and especially with rising interest rates, we see a slowdown in housing starts that causes a reduction in demand for lumber, thereby softening prices. Rates are expected to continue to climb by at least another percentage point into the new year as a means to slow inflation. We therefore expect lumber prices to remain at or below their current level until the next economic expansion, though a lower than average housing stock and/or reduced wood supply could affect this outlook. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription may be required]
China’s central bank slashed its key lending rates in a bid to help its ailing economy and deepening real estate crisis. The People’s Bank of China trimmed its five-year loan prime rate by 15 basis points to 4.3%. The central bank already cut the five-year LPR by the same amount in May—the biggest reduction since 2019. …China’s property crisis has worsened in recent months, as hundreds of thousands of homebuyers began protesting and refusing to pay their mortgages owing to stalled and delayed housing projects. The mass mortgage boycotts mean that crumbling consumer confidence could hamper any real estate recovery, “which will eventually ripple through the domestic economy”. Real estate and related industries account for 25% of the nation’s GDP. Trimming interest rates is an attempt to lower interest payments on developers’ outstanding loans, and to decrease the price of new loans. 
Vietnam exports of timber products to the UK, EU, and US are down. Export orders since the beginning of 2022 are down significantly, with a 38% year-on-year decline in June and a continued drop by 5.5% in July. …
FSC Canada is pleased to share a National Forest Stewardship Standard (NFSS) “Recommendations” document which includes interim answers to questions related to the FSC Canada NFSS (FSC-STD-CAN-01-2018). Please note that the “recommendations” are not normative but FSC Canada has submitted the “recommendations” to FSC International for review and approval as an official interpretation. The “recommendations” were discussed and agreed upon by the FSC Canada Standard Development Group, assisted by related experts, when needed. These “recommendations” may be invalidated or replaced at any time. 
When Jeff Leavy, a trucker from Clatskanie, Oregon, heard in mid-2019 that a timber mill in the neighboring county was shutting down its swing shift in part because of a proposed emissions bill, he considered it another blow to his industry. The legislation aimed to limit carbon dioxide emissions to the equivalent of 25,000 metric tons; companies emitting more would have to buy carbon credits at auction. …By June, word was traveling in rural parts of the state that the bill, known as cap and trade, would decimate the timber industry. …Over the next couple of weeks, the rallies grew. On June 25, the bill was pronounced dead. Thousands had mobilized in just two weeks. …Since its founding three years ago, Timber Unity has offered a notably successful model of anti-government organizing aimed at local political takeover. Of the 15 county commissioners Timber Unity endorsed in 2020, 12 were elected.
The U.K. government on Aug. 22 opened a public consultation on its proposal to temporarily suspend certain fuel quality requirements for Renewable Heat Incentive participants using wood pellets in response to supply impacts resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The proposed suspension would be in place for 12 months. …Imports of wood pellets from Russia and Belarus to the EU and U.K. was suspended in April 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The U.K. officially banned the importation of wood pellets from both countries on June 23, 2022. The BEIS estimates that up to 40 percent of the ENplus pellets used in the U.K are imported from Russia and Balarus. The U.K. government has been working with the U.K. Pellet Council, trade bodies and industry members to assess options to minimize potential disruptions to the supply of wood pellets.
Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (OHSR) are coming into effect on Aug. 22, 2022, that will strengthen worker protections on the right to refuse unsafe work. A worker’s right to refuse unsafe work is an integral element in ensuring work is carried out safely. All workers in B.C. have the right to refuse work where there is reasonable cause to believe it would create an undue hazard to their health or safety. Prior to the amendment, the regulation did not explicitly prohibit the reassignment of refused work, or require the disclosure that another worker had refused the task due to health or safety concerns. …Under the new rules, employers are required to notify workers in writing of any unresolved work refusal due to safety concerns. It also requires employers to tell the subsequent worker the specific reasons the first worker felt the task was unsafe.
MOSCOW – Forest fires raging south of Moscow have intensified, Russian authorities said on Monday, as residents of the capital complained of a sharp smell of smoke pervading the air. Since early August fires have been raging across the Ryazan region, some 200 km (125 miles) southeast of Moscow, where officials have been scrambling personnel to put them out. The region’s acting governor Pavel Malkov said a state of emergency had been put in place and that residents in two settlements – Olgino and Golovanovo – had been ordered to evacuate. “The area covered by the fire continues to grow slowly. According to the Aerial Forest Protection Service, we are looking at about 8,000-9,000 hectares today,” he said, describing the situation as “tense”. Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said the city had sent equipment and personnel to the Ryazan region but that their efforts had not been enough to contain the blazes.