Western Forests has agreed to acquire Calvert Co., creating an engineered wood subsidiary; while West Fraser shuts down speculation of potential takeover by CVC Capital. In other business news: Kruger breaks ground on Quebec tissue plant; Canfor Pulp benefits from pulp price rise; Maersk struggles with supply-chain woes; and US and Canadian housing corrections due to rate hikes and builder sentiments.
In Forestry/Climate news: the world’s oldest trees can outlive anything (but humans); Kalesnikoff reduces wildfire threats in Nelson; Canfor supports effort to save the Radium Bighorn Sheep; and you can add Greece to the list of EU countries facing wildfire threats.
Finally, Netflix series ‘Big Timber‘ offers glimpse into daunting challenges loggers face.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Shares in West Fraser Timber Company pared their gains Tuesday after the company tamed takeover speculation. The Vancouver-based forestry company’s stock surged as much as 24 per cent in intraday trading after a report said it could be targeted for a buyout. According to Reuters, CVC Capital and wood-panel maker Kronospan presented an expression of interest to jointly acquire West Fraser. However, in a 
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Western Forest Products announced that a wholly owned subsidiary of Western has entered into an agreement to acquire certain assets of Calvert Company located in Washington State for consideration of US$12.0 million, including inventory of US$2.5 million, subject to a customary post-closing inventory adjustment. Calvert is one of the oldest glulam manufacturers in the U.S. and has more than 60 years of experience producing high quality glulam beams in multiple species, including Douglas fir, southern yellow pine and yellow cedar, for industrial, commercial and residential projects around the world. Calvert has manufacturing facilities in Washougal, Washington and Vancouver, Washington with a combined annual glulam capacity of approximately 35 million board feet on a two shift basis. Calvert’s operations employ approximately 60 employees and produced approximately 13 million board feet of glulam in 2021 on a single shift basis.
The June housing starts data beat estimates with positive revisions, however, this doesn’t change the housing market recession call that I made last month. …The headline numbers on today’s housing starts data looks OK, but the reality is different. That reality can be seen more clearly by looking at the homebuilder’s sentiment index, which collapsed yesterday. …The smart thing to do is go with the builder sentiment trend until it reverses, and most likely, we will need to see lower mortgage rates for that to happen. ..The housing starts report wasn’t terrible, but it’s backward-looking. The slowdown in single-family construction is noticeable now that mortgage rates have risen. If mortgage rates fall, we might have a different conversation, but not yet, with the 10-year yield at 2.99%. Look for the builders to offer incentives for their products to ensure they sell their houses.
Canfor Corporation today announced a $50,000 contribution to help the Village of Radium Hot Springs reach its $400,000 campaign goal to Save the Radium Bighorn Herd. Radium Hot Springs’ magnificent Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep are recognized as a species of special concern, reflecting the vulnerability of these beloved animals. “As a forestry company with a significant presence in the Kootenay Rockies region of B.C., we are very proud to make this contribution supporting conservation of the Radium-Stoddart herd,” said Michelle Ward, Senior Director, Communications & Government Relations. “The community, including our own employees who call Radium home, has shown great commitment to increase awareness of the risks faced by the sheep and to accelerate the building of a safe wildlife overpass for Radium’s One Mile Hill.”
This month Logan Lake kicked-off their youth FireSmart program. The team approach to the project includes the District of Logan Lake Fire Chief and the Logan Lake Wellness, Health and Youth Society and the Logan Lake Community Forest. The team will be conducting fuel treatments over 4.8 ha of a wildlife tree retention area in the southern portion of Logan Lake Community Forest fire salvage permit. Hand treatments will be applied to green reserve patches to improve resilience in the areas where there is expected green tree survival post the 2021 Tremont Creek fire. 
