Daily News for August 16, 2022

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Today’s Takeaway

US builder confidence falls for the 8th consecutive month

The Tree Frog Forestry News
August 16, 2022
Category: Today's Takeaway

US homebuilder confidence fell to a seven-year low—not counting the Covid-induced drop in Q2, 2020. In related news, notwithstanding the residential decline: total US construction starts surged in July, Canadian housing starts edged up; and Home Depot reported record Q2 sales. In other Business news: the CP Rail/Kansas City Southern merger received US approval; mass timber gets a training boost in BC, and feature exposés in both Archtectural Record and the Globe & Mail.

In other news: Canada releases Ontario-focused climate change report; Manitoba First Nations secure revenue sharing agreements; SFI applauds passage of the US Inflation Reduction Act; and wildfire updates from Newfoundland; Oregon; California and France. 

Finally, congratulations to Wood WORKS BC’s Lynn Embury-Williams, who is retiring after 44 years.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Business & Politics

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern merger proposal receives clearance in the United States

By Canadian Pacific
Cision Newswire
August 16, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

CALGARY, AB – Canadian Pacific Railway Limited today announced it has received the required regulatory clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for the proposed combination of CP and Kansas City Southern (KCS). CP completed its acquisition of KCS on Dec. 14, 2021. Immediately upon the closing of the acquisition, the shares of KCS were placed into a voting trust which ensures KCS will operate independently of CP while the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) completes its regulatory review of the companies’ joint railroad control application to create Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the only single-line railroad linking the United States, Mexico and Canada. The STB review of CP’s proposed control of KCS is expected to be completed in early 2023.

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Lynn Embury-Williams, Executive Director, Wood WORKS! BC is retiring

The Canadian Wood Council
August 8, 2022
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Lynn Embury-Williams

Lynn Embury-Williams, Executive Director, Wood WORKS! BC is retiring effective August 12th. The Canadian Wood Council and Wood WORKS! program would like to thank Lynn for her dedication and tremendous achievements over the past 8 years. With her regional team Lynn has helped change the face of construction in BC, ensuring the use of more wood products and systems for a variety of building types. Lynn shared her years of industry experience and knowledge with the program. …“We want to thank Lynn for her leadership and guidance of the Wood WORKS! BC program”, comments Rick Jeffery, Interim President & CEO for the Canadian Wood Council, “her dedication to growing sustainable markets in Canada is commendable.  We are extremely grateful to Lynn for her passion and dedication to the program.”

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Finance & Economics

Canadian housing starts trend higher in July

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
August 16, 2022
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

OTTAWA — The trend in housing starts was 264,426 units in July, up from 257,862 units in June, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts. …”The monthly SAAR and trend were higher in July compared to June nationally, as historically elevated levels of housing starts activity continue in Canada, which have been well above 200,000 units since 2020,” said Aled Ab Iorwerth, CMHC’s Deputy Chief Economist. “Monthly SAAR housing starts in Canada’s urban areas declined in July, driven by lower single-detached starts. …The standalone monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada in July was 275,329 units, an increase of 1.1% from June. The SAAR of total urban starts decreased by 0.8% to 254,371 units in July.

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Total Construction Starts Surge in July Despite Residential Decline

Dodge Data & Analytics
August 16, 2022
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

HAMILTON, New Jersey — Total construction starts rose 48% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.36 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. This gain results from the start of three large manufacturing plants and two LNG export facilities. However, even without these projects, total construction starts would still have increased 7%. Nonresidential building starts rose 79% in July, and nonbuilding starts jumped 120%. conversely residential starts decreased 8%. Year-to-date, total construction was 11% higher in the first seven months of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021. Nonresidential building starts rose 22% over the year, residential starts were 1% higher, and nonbuilding starts were up 16%. For the 12 months ending July 2022, total construction starts were 10% above the 12 months ending July 2021. Nonresidential starts were 21% higher, residential starts gained 4%, and nonbuilding starts were up 10%.

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Record Home Depot sales show America’s housing market is still strong

By Paul La Monica
CNN Business
August 16, 2022
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Soaring mortgage rates and unaffordable home prices are worrisome signs for the broader housing market and economy. …But don’t tell that to Home Depot. The home improvement retail giant reported record earnings and sales for its most recent quarter. Home Depot said Tuesday that overall revenue was up 6.5% from a year ago, to $43.8 billion. The company reported a net profit of $5.2 billion, or $5.05 a share. That topped Wall Street’s forecasts, as professional contractors and the do-it-yourself crowd kept spending. Sales at stores open at least a year, rose 5.4% from the same quarter in 2021 in the United States and 5.8% at all locations worldwide. …”Our performance reflects continued strength in demand for home improvement projects,” said Home Depot CEO and president Ted Decker. …That trend of spending even more on their houses could continue, especially if the economy continues to cool this year and in 2023.

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US Builder Confidence Falls for Eighth Consecutive Month

By Robert Dietz
NAHB – Eye on Housing
August 15, 2022
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: United States

Builder confidence fell for the eighth straight month in August as elevated interest rates, ongoing supply chain problems and high home prices continue to exacerbate housing affordability challenges. In another sign that a declining housing market has failed to bottom out, builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes fell six points in August to 49, marking the first time since May 2020 that the index fell below the key break-even measure of 50, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). …All three HMI components posted declines in August and each fell to their lowest level since May 2020.  Current sales conditions dropped seven points to 57, sales expectations in the next six months declined two points to 47 and traffic of prospective buyers fell five points to 32.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

BC Invest in post secondary mass timber education

By Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training
The Government of British Columbia
August 15, 2022
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

More students will get the education and skills they need to build using one of the province’s greatest natural advantages: mass timber. A new program is helping experienced carpenters, ironworkers and builders gain the in-demand skills needed to succeed in the growing field of mass timber innovation.  …“We are investing in new post-secondary training for students to become leaders in mass timber construction,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training. “We’re also investing in student housing and projects that involve mass timber at post-secondary institutions, including providing $108.8 million toward BCIT’s new Tall Timber Student Housing, which is currently under construction.” At a BCIT Applied Mass Timber Build open house, Kang announced $250,000 to support BCIT to develop additional programming, building on the success of the new construction of mass timber structures associate certificate.

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Harder, faster, better, stronger: Mass timber is trending up

By David Israelson
The Globe and Mail
August 16, 2022
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

ONTARIO — Walk past a construction site in cities across Canada and the chances are better than ever you’ll see workers and cranes hoisting giant mass timber beams into place. Mass timber is turning into a mass movement. Once considered mostly an experimental construction technology, the use of glued, laminated wood beams is taking hold in the design and construction of larger, commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. “Ontario is taking to mass timber in a big way,” says Patrick Chouinard, VP at Element5, which designs timber projects and has a factory in St. Thomas, Ontario. …By the end of last year, the federal government’s State of Mass Timber in Canada report noted that there were already nearly 500 mass timber projects across the country, with 412 completed, 52 under construction and another 12 planned.

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Mass Timber: A New Chapter in Sustainable Forestry?

By Pansy Schulman
Architectural Record
August 15, 2022
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

The mass-timber revolution is swiftly making its mark on the American landscape. As of March, an estimated 1,384 mass-timber buildings have been constructed or are in design in all 50 states, and in August the 25-story Ascent tower in downtown Milwaukee edged out Voll Arkitekter’s Mjøstårne in Norway for the distinction of the world’s tallest timber building. Sustainability has been a major accelerant of the phenomenon. Compared to steel or concrete, the benefits of timber construction are significant—both in the long-term storing of carbon and in emissions reductions from forest to jobsite. Yet the idea that “all wood is good” glosses over the intricacies of a complex supply chain. …“If architects are going to make these significant sustainability claims, they need to know where the product comes from,” says architect Michael Green, a vocal advocate for timber construction, whose eponymous Vancouver-based firm has millions of square feet of mass-timber projects under way. 

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Huge 485ft wood and steel bridge crashes down into Norwegian river

By Adam Solomons
Daily Mail UK
August 15, 2022
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

A 485ft-long bridge made of wood and steel in Norway collapsed during rush hour this morning, sending a lorry and a car plunging toward the water below. …Both drivers were rescued and are now doing well, police said. …The bridge is just a decade old, having opened in 2012. …The Norwegian Automobile Federation said the bridge was last checked in 2021, raising concern about the safety of such bridges. …A similar nearby bridge in Sjoa in the Gudbrand valley, also made of glued laminated timber, collapsed in 2016. …Following that collapse, 11 similar bridges, including the one in Tretten, were temporarily closed by the government body that is in charge of Norway’s infrastructure. The agency said in a report about the 2016 collapse that ‘the direct cause of the bridge collapse is a defective joint in the framework’.

 

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Forestry

Three Northern Manitoba First Nations sign agreements giving them a share of province’s forestry revenues

By Ian Graham
Thompson Citizen
August 15, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

The provincial government has established agreements with three Northern Manitoba First Nations regarding forestry development and revenue sharing. A memorandum of agreement was signed by the province and Norway House Cree Nation on Aug. 2, with the government committing to creating a tree planting program to train and employ youth and community members and returning up to 45 per cent of revenues collected from timber dues to the First Nation. A multiphase traditional land use study will be led by NHCN, with priority given to the area and interests fo the First Nation. Timber will also be provided for NHCN’s sawmills to support the goal of building approximately 500 homes in the community. …A memorandum of understanding with Mosakahiken Cree Nation was also signed to share up to 45 per cent of timber dues harvested in proximity to the First Nation, retroactively to Jan. 1 of this year and running up until June 30, 2024.

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Chilko-Newton Road closure protects bears, people

By Ministry of Lands… and Ministry of Forests
Government of British Columbia
August 15, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Due to increased grizzly bear activity in the upper Chilko River area, access to Chilko-Newton Road, south of Henry’s Crossing, will be closed to the public during salmon spawning season from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31, 2022. The Tŝilhqot’in Nation and the Province are jointly restricting public access to the upper Chilko corridor while a management plan is being written for the area. This closure is to mitigate the risks of members of the public coming into close contact with grizzly bears in the area. The closure of the road will be monitored and enforced under the BC Wildlife Act. Penalties and fines for violators will be issued.

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Vancouver Island groups want review of RCMP enforcement at Fairy Creek protests

Victoria News
August 15, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Four environmental advocacy groups are jointly calling for a review of actions taken by RCMP officers enforcing a court injunction against old-growth logging protesters last year. …The groups claim the police actions infringed on 13 charter rights of protesters and want a Civilian Review and Complaints Commission investigation into what they call improper and unlawful actions by the RCMP’s Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG). The joint complaint was submitted to the commission Aug. 10 by Elders for Ancient Trees, Rainforest Flying Squad, Legal Observers of Victoria and Social Environmental Alliance. …The complaint filing includes 73 witness statements alleging the C-IRG and other RCMP units embarked on a widespread campaign of excessive force, breaches of civil liberties and human rights violations against civilian protesters.

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‘We’ve been lucky,’ researcher says as fewer forest fires reported in northeastern Ontario

CBC News
August 15, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada East

David Pearson

People in northern Ontario may have to get accustomed to a change in the seasons, at least as far as severe weather events go. Researchers in Sudbury say fewer reports of forest fires in the region and a drop in the number of blue-green algae sightings may be encouraging signs to residents short term, but could also point to longer-term problems related to climate change. One of those problems could include dealing with a longer forest fire season, David Pearson, emeritus professor with Laurentian University, told CBC News. “When fire crews were recruited 10, 15 years ago, they were often peopled by university students,” Pearson said. “Now, when the university students go back to school, the fire season is still continuing into September, which it didn’t in the past. …Fortunately, northeastern Ontario has seen only a fraction of the number of fires it typically grapples with. 

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Leave the forests alone? If only it were that simple

By Jonathan Bruno, CEO of Coalitions & Collaboratives, Inc.
The Colorado Sun
August 16, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Jonathan Bruno

Is a solution to climate change as easy as saying, “Leave our forests standing?” No. As with most climate change issues, the answer is far more nuanced than a blanket statement. …the relationship between climate change and decades of a hands-off attitude toward forest management is complex. …Wildfires release carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gasses, from the trees and vegetation, further driving climate change. Thus, overgrown forests with associated higher wildfire risk contribute to the problem. …the goal of forest management is to …create a healthier forest that is more resistant to disease and massive fires. A healthy forest is also much more efficient for carbon storage and more biodiverse. …Trees harvested and used for wood-based products, such as furniture or building materials, continue to store carbon throughout the product’s life… When substituted for energy-intensive production of construction materials, such as steel and concrete, wood can substantially reduce carbon emissions.

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Sustainable Forestry Initiative applauds passage of the Inflation Reduction Act

Sustainable Forestry Initiative
August 15, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

Washington, D.C. – The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) praised Congress for passing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which provides funding for climate-smart forestry activities that promote forest health and resilience and increase carbon sequestration. …”The important investments included in the Inflation Reduction Act will benefit forest health on both private and public lands. It will help ensure our forests are resilient to wildfire and contribute to solving our climate crisis,” Nadine Block, SFI Senior VP, Community and Government Relations said. The bill… includes numerous provisions intended to address climate change. Key provisions for managing forests and natural resources on private and state forestlands include:

  • Forest conservation: $700 Million for the Forest Legacy Program
  • Climate-smart forestry: $450 million for forest-carbon grants to private landowners.
  • Conservation programs: $18 billion for “Climate-Smart Agriculture” and forest-related practices.
  • Urban forests: $1.5 billion for grants to cities and non-profits…
  • Wood products : $100 million for the Wood Innovation Grant Program…

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$21.5 million set for forestry, fire-safety jobs training

By Pamela Kan-Rice
Western Farm Press
August 15, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

California’s forested, rural communities are suffering from record-breaking wildfires that burned 2.5 million acres and destroyed multiple communities in 2021 alone. To create well-paying jobs and improve forest health and fire safety, the Sierra Nevada and Cascade regions have received $21.5 million for a project that will strengthen the infrastructure for workforce development and increase access to those jobs for local community members from all backgrounds. The project, funded by the federal Good Jobs Challenge, is being rolled out by the Foundation for California Community Colleges, California State University Chico, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Sierra Business Council. …The four-year project will help train and place qualified workers into high-quality jobs in the forestry sector, responding to urgent needs to build economic and climate resilience in California’s forested, rural communities.

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Over 600,000 seedlings planted in Idaho’s Packer John State Forest

By Anteia McCollum
Idaho Capital Sun
August 15, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

After receiving nearly $300,000 from a grant through the Arbor Day Foundation, the Idaho Department of Lands was able to plant 610,300 new trees over 2,000 acres in the Packer John State Forest in Valley County. Years of insect infestations and drought had already damaged the forest, but the ruined lumber was sold for salvage after an invasion of Douglas-fir tussock moths in 2019… The grant was given to the Department of Lands due to the uniqueness of the project, where a forest susceptible to insects has been replaced with species that will be able to restore the site to a healthy forest. The destruction of the forest had a negative impact on Idaho public schools as the owners and beneficiaries of the land. The douglas fir, subalpine fir and grand fir, have been replaced with ponderosa pine and western larch that aren’t as susceptible to tussock moth damage. 

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Forty metres above the forest, searching for smoke

By Joel Gunter
BBC News
August 15, 2022
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Manuel Escutia

FRANCE — Manuel Escutia was the first firefighter to set eyes on the blaze that consumed 14,000 hectares of southern France in July.  When he saw it, from his perch 40m above the forest, it was a small cloud of black smoke rising from the trees about 5km away. Escutia had just done a circuit of his watchtower and he was about to go back inside the small cabin at its centre when the smoke caught his eye. …The network of 22 watchtowers dotting this forest in Gironde in southern France is the first line of defence against wildfires. …From Escutia’s watchtower, on Sunday, it was possible to trace how far the fire had travelled. A long arc of burned trees stretched a full quarter of his 360-degree view. “I had never seen such a big fire, so violent, the kind of fire that produces its own wind,” Escutia said. 

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Climate change impacts at the fore for south coast communities after central Newfoundland forest fires

By Darrell Roberts
CBC News
August 15, 2022
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

NEWFOUNDLAND — Chief Mi’sel Joe says Miawpukek doesn’t get as much snow as it used to. He used to be on the fence about whether climate change was having a tangible impact on the environment surrounding Miawpukek… but not anymore. …Forest fires aren’t new to central Newfoundland, but Joel Finnis, a Memorial University associate professor of geogaphy and a climatologist, said there is a link between global warming and the fires this summer. …Finnis noted climate change contributes to both wet and dry extreme weather events. …Connie Willcott, deputy mayor of St. Alban’s, said her community is already taking those extremes into account. St. Alban’s was another south coast community cut off by the Bay d’Espoir Highway closure. …Miawpukek general manager Rod Jeddore told CBC News last week the community is planning to implement a fire break. Willcott said St. Alban’s is considering doing the same. 

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Minister Wilkinson Releases Report on the Impacts of Climate Change and Necessity of Climate Adaptation in Ontario

By Natural Resources Canada
Cision Newswire
August 15, 2022
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

Jonathan Wilkinson

Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources released the Ontario Chapter of the Canada in a Changing Climate: Regional Perspectives Report to help inform and support adaptation to climate change in Ontario. …This new chapter highlights the wide range of climate impacts that Ontario is facing and how the province is adapting. It reveals that Ontario’s infrastructure is vulnerable to climate change and that nature-based solutions help address climate change impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Impacts on biodiversity are magnified through the cumulative effects of climate change, habitat loss, urbanization, pollution and other threats. In the Great Lakes Basin, adaptive management is key and adaptation measures improve forest health, carbon storage and biodiversity. …The report is a part of… Canada’s National Knowledge Assessment of how and why Canada’s climate is changing, the impacts of these changes and how we are adapting.

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Health & Safety

Timber harvest operations limits public traffic on Gravina Island

KINY Radio Alaska
August 15, 2022
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US West

Ketchikan, Alaska – With deer hunting activity increasing in the region, the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection is reminding the public about vehicle restrictions on Vallenar Bay Road on Gravina Island near Ketchikan. The road is currently restricted to commercial and administrative traffic associated with active timber harvest operations. The public is discouraged from using the road during periods of road construction, log hauling, cutting, or logging occurring on or near the road, to protect public safety, equipment, and timber value. Restrictions are intended to help ensure the safety of both the public and a contractor conducting timber harvests… Logging trucks have limited maneuverability on the narrow, one-lane road and encounters with public traffic pose a risk to all involved.

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Forest Fires

Nova Scotia firefighters head to Newfoundland and Labrador to battle wildfires

By Alex MacIsaac
CTV Atlantic
August 15, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

A group of Nova Scotians is being sent to fight wildfires burning in central Newfoundland. Twenty wildland firefighters from the Department of Resources and Renewables and one agency representative will join crews in Gander, N.L., according to a news release from the Nova Scotia government Monday. “I’m proud of our department firefighters for answering the call of duty, and I know their service is greatly appreciated by our neighbours in Newfoundland,” said Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables Tory Rushton. …Two wildfires near Grand Falls-Windsor and the nearby Bay d’Espoir Highway have been raging for three weeks. They were started on July 24 by lightning strikes during a period of hot, dry weather. …Nova Scotia is part of the Canadian Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement, which ensures all provinces and territories will receive help if forest fires become too large to handle. The affected province covers the cost.

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Cedar Creek Fire burning more than 4,400 acres in Willamette National Forest

By Jeff Thompson
Oregon Public Broadcasting
August 15, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

The Cedar Creek Fire, burning in the Willamette National Forest, had grown to over 4,400 acres and was still reported as 0% contained Monday morning. Crews said the fire is burning in steep and inaccessible terrain west of Waldo Lake west of La Pine and north of Highway 58. No evacuations were in place as of Monday morning. But all trailheads and campsites west and north of the Waldo Lake recreational area are closed. The lake itself is open, along with campgrounds and trails east of it. Fire restrictions are in place for most of the Willamette National Forest. To the south, in the Umpqua National Forest, the Potter, Windigo and Big Swamp fires are burning a total of about 1,600 acres. All four wildfires were started by lightning strikes.

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Oregon Department of Forestry touts 2022 wildfire success

By Christopher Keizur
Estacada News
August 16, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Oregon crews are having success dousing wildfires this season, despite hot temperatures and dry conditions, thanks to an investment of people and equipment. As of Monday, Aug. 15, Oregon Department of Forestry crews have suppressed 418 fires, holding the spread to only 582 acres total. The previous 10-years average was 590 fires burning 56,121 acres. “Frankly, our people have been kicking butt,” said Tim Holschback, Oregon Department of Forestry deputy chief of policy and planning. “Although there is a possibility for holdover fires from the recent lightning to add fires to the map, ODF’s firefighters have been doing a remarkable job keeping them small.” Officials credit the passage of Senate Bill 762 out of Salem, which allowed for the hiring of additional seasonal firefighters and full-time positions to increase year-round capabilities.

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