Record temperatures, deadly wildfires and evacuations are causing havoc in Portugal, Spain, France and Morocco. In related news: firefighters make progress on fire near Lytton, BC, Yosemite’s sequoias appear safe from the Washburn fire; and the US Forest Service assumes command of the Moors Mountain fire in Montana. In other Forestry news: Quebec’s plan to help caribou is called inadequate; the Nature Conservancy says ‘lets fight fire with fire’; and a story of logging and conservation on Vancouver Island.
In other news: Canadian housing starts slowed in June; mass timber makes news in Arkansas, New York and Switzerland; and SFI awards five new community grants.
Finally, tree sleuths – how DNA is transforming the fight against illegal logging.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Washington, D.C. and Ottawa, ON—The Sustainable Forestry Initiative, (SFI) announced five new SFI Community Grants today to support projects that make a meaningful impact in communities across the U.S. and Canada and that support SFI’s mission of advancing sustainability through forest-focused collaboration. “This year’s community grant recipients are working to develop forest literacy, strengthen urban forest management, support green job pathways, and build a diverse and resilient workforce—all while leveraging the connections and expertise of our SFI Implementation Committees and SFI-certified organizations,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI. The new grants will create experiences that invite community members across the United States and Canada to explore and connect with forests through interactive outdoor exhibits and in‑person forest tours. Several of these grants will also feature online tools such as apps and websites to provide a range of innovative community connections.
Justin Wilke, a Washington man in his late-thirties, found what seemed like the perfect candidate for poaching: a big-leaf maple located… in the Olympic National Forest. …Wilke and two associates hiked into the forest and began to clear the trees around their target. In the process, they found a wasp’s nest in the base of the maple. Their wasp spray wasn’t effective, so they decided to set the nest on fire. After failing to extinguish the blaze, Wilke and his team fled the scene. …Wilke was a leading suspect from the start. Prosecutors felt reasonably confident, but to bolster their case, they decided to turn to an unlikely source of evidence: tree DNA. …Big-leaf maples are not the only trees vulnerable to poaching. To curb the theft of other species, the Forest Service and Adventure Scientists are working on new databases for other species commonly stolen from public land.
As an Environmental Studies major at UCLA, I began to better understand and appreciate the natural beauty and environmental services the forests on Vancouver Island provide. When I began researching and organizing to protect forests in Canada as an intern with Environment America, I became immersed in information about the resources that can be extracted from these important forests. However, this was not my first time thinking about forests in terms of wood products. My grandfather grew up on the island, and he worked for British Columbia Forest Products (BCFP), which was the largest logging company in the mid 20th century. …As an intern at Environment America, I learned how to campaign for the protection of forests critical to the climate, biodiversity and people, without villainizing the people who rely on the logging industry.
UBC Faculty of Forestry’s Future Forests Fellowship (FFF), one of the largest single awards in the world given to an incoming doctoral student in forestry, is once again available in 2022. Made possible by a private Canadian foundation, the award, amounting to $280,000 over four years, was created to underscore just how much forestry research impacts global current and emerging ecological issues. It is awarded to a student who demonstrates leadership skills and who’s intended studies fit within one of the Faculty’s areas of research excellence. “Once again, we are so grateful to the foundation for this extraordinary opportunity to attract outstanding candidates from all over the world,” says Emma Tully, UBC Forestry Assistant Dean, Development, Alumni and External Relations. “We are looking for future leaders who are able to think critically about the many environmental challenges our planet faces and provide imaginative solutions that tackle those issues head-on.”
OREGON — A forester’s goal is to achieve a balanced approach to resource management by considering tradeoffs, environmental protections, operational feasibility and sustainability of activities. Ultimately, the concept of actively managing resources for current and future generations to enjoy is sustainable and should be seen as climate smart. …There are many opinions about what should or should not occur in the forest because it is human nature to attribute human-like characteristics or spiritual emphasis on those awe-inspiring things around us. …But, can we actually have our cake and eat it too when it comes to managing this resource? As a forester, I believe the answer is yes. But we must get out of our own way to allow science and the big picture to shine through. 
HELENA, Montana — The Moors Mountain fire in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness north of Helena grew from 115 acres to 150 acres overnight, U.S. Forest Service officials said Sunday. The Forest Service said about 9:45 a.m. that a Type III team will assume command Monday morning and a long-term strategy is being developed to direct suppression on the east and north flanks closest to private property. The fire was reported by multiple callers about 3:50 p.m. Saturday. Officials said Sunday the fire was caused by lightning and it was burning in heavy timber. Forest officials asked people to avoid Refrigerator Canyon Trail in Gates of the Mountains Wilderness and said a closure order was forthcoming. 
Thousands of firefighters are continuing to battle wildfires in Portugal, Spain and France, as a heatwave shows no sign of easing. In northern Portugal, a pilot died when his waterbombing plane crashed in the Foz Coa area, near the Spanish border. The Portuguese authorities say at least 238 people have died from the heat over the past week. Fires are ravaging areas of France’s south-western Gironde region, where over 12,000 people have been evacuated. Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to carbon emissions. The French weather service has forecast temperatures of up to 41 degrees in parts of the country’s south on Sunday and new heat records are predicted for Monday.
Scorching temperatures and raging wildfires have already forced the evacuations of thousands of people in Portugal, France, and Spain. …A pilot died while battling a blaze in Portugal, as hundreds more were evacuated from Spain and France on Friday. A scorching heatwave has set blazes across European towns, with officials issuing heatwave warnings in the coming days. …In Portugal, five districts were on red alert as of Friday and more than 1,000 firefighters were battling at least 17 blazes, authorities said. While temperatures dipped slightly on Friday, they’re still expected to top 104 degrees Fahrenheit in some places in the coming days, authorities said. Wildfires continued to blaze in southwestern France as well, forcing hundreds to evacuate, authorities said Friday. …In Spain, authorities said at least 20 fires were raging still, with a fire near Mijas, a town on the southeastern coast of Spain, forcing the evacuation of some 2,300 people.
