Yosemite wildfire doubles in size, threatening the largest grove of giant sequoias in the park. In related news: a new wildfire in Ontario; and Portugal and France battle mega-fires amid heatwave. In other Forestry news: an important meeting on the challenge of our future tree seed supply; increased scrutiny for Saskatchewan’s growing forest sector; and Oregon counties ask court to reinstate timber harvesting verdict.
In Business news: Teal Jones celebrates groundbreaking at Louisiana mill; Western Timber Products incurs EPA fine; Superior Pine acquires US South timberlands; the Softwood Lumber Board’s impressive Q1 report; and lumber futures are getting a makeover.
Finally, mass timber keeps rising to new heights (in Toronto, New York and Milwaukee).
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Exchange operator CME Group is rolling out a new lumber futures contract aimed at boosting the trade in two-by-four derivatives, which has dwindled in recent years and exacerbated wild swings in America’s benchmark price for wood. The new contract will be fulfilled with a truckload of boards instead of a railcar full, which is about one-quarter the volume of wood, delivered to Chicago rather than a remote Canadian rail junction. The specifications will allow for eastern species of spruce, pine and fir, instead of only varieties that grow in the West. CME said it plans to launch the new futures under the ticker LBR early next month. It said the current contract that expires in May 2023 will be the last listed under existing specifications. The changes are aimed at [being] a reliable barometer for building costs and the housing market. (to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required)
Western Australia has recorded the second highest annual increase in construction costs in the nation, up 10.4 per cent over the 12 months to June 2022. It was only a touch behind South Australia which had the highest annual increase in construction costs, up 10.5 per cent. It is the fastest pace of growth on record for residential construction costs outside the introduction of the GST in 2001, according to CoreLogic’s Cordell Construction Cost Index. …John Bennett said the figures showed the cost of metal, structural steel, reinforcing, fixings and fencing were under pressure, adding to rising prices across timber products. …“It is important to note these factors only add to other pressures that have impacted the residential construction industry for 18 months now, such as labour availability and overheads. 
UK — A week is a long time in politics, as we have just experienced, but there was also plenty happening on the construction data front over the past seven days. Figures released by the government, major housebuilders and several research specialists have shed new light on the economic conditions the sector is facing. Here are the highlights: Construction material prices have risen for a 20th consecutive month, according to official figures. The all-materials, all-work index produced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy hit 158.8 in May, data released last week revealed. This is up 3.7 per cent from April. …Supplier delivery times lengthened in June, according to a poll of construction buyers.
VICTORIA – The Forest Practices Board will audit the forest planning and practices of Interfor Corporation on tree farm licence (TFL) 18, located near Clearwater, during the week of July 11, 2022. Auditors will examine whether harvesting, roads, silviculture, fire protection and associated planning carried out between July 1, 2020, and July 15, 2022, met the requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and the Wildfire Act. The audit area is located in the Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District, northwest of Clearwater and south of Wells Gray Provincial Park. The TFL overlaps the territories of the Adams Lake Indian Band, Canim Lake Indian Band, Neskonlith Indian Band and the Simpcw First Nation. The TFL was transferred to Interfor Corporation from Canadian Forest Products Ltd. in March 2020, including harvesting rights, road maintenance and silviculture obligations and commitments to First Nations, as well as stakeholders.
Between June 22, 2022 and June 27th, 2022, a meeting on challenges to our future tree seed supply was held in British Columbia. The purpose of this tree seed meeting was to address a key bottleneck in the highly ambitious global reforestation goals – the sustained availability of high-quality and adapted tree seed. Challenges to our future tree seed supply are real and begin with a lack of educational coverage, research funding and interest, and continued infrastructure investment. The tree seed supply system is taken for granted and unsustainable in its current form. One of the meeting goals was to build strong relationships between organizations involved in this field: IUFRO 2.09.03: Seed Physiology and Technology; International Seed Testing Association Forest Tree and Shrub Committee, International Seed Federation Tree and Shrub group and our Canadian Tree Seed Working Group. Prioritization of efforts needs to consider the whole spectrum of activities from tree seed science to production and processing and ultimately the provision of the best seeds and information to the global tree seed market.
Oregon activists have come far… from protecting federal public forest, to protecting state public forests. What, I wondered, was the next step? Wouldn’t it be to protect public interest against private property itself, not just against logging/development on public lands? The private property most in question would be the 10.2 million acres of private logging lands in the state. What impact does private land use on about one-third of all forests in the state have on the public interest, specifically municipal watersheds, air and water quality and community fire resilience? Oregon is uniquely qualified to answer this question through the application of what legal scholars call “public trust doctrine.” …Its primary principle is that the “sovereign,” or state, holds resources in trust for public use regardless of private property ownership. …Private logging land is often sprayed with herbicide and commonly clear-cut. 
The day after the nation celebrated its independence, the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildland Center (KS Wild) continued the fireworks by notifying the Bureau of Land Management it was going to sue the agency. What drew the ire of KS Wild? Public lands managers at the BLM are seeking to implement its Integrated Vegetation Management for Resilient Lands Environmental Assessment. Projects from this plan will encourage healthier forests that are more resilient to wildfire and drought, protect adjacent communities from large-scale wildland fires, and improve habitat for vulnerable wildlife species and plants. …To accomplish its goals, the BLM may remove some commercial timber from the treatment areas. …Commercial harvest is sometimes the most efficient way to accomplish the agency’s conservation goals. That’s because the timber industry provides the people, equipment and markets to remove and process the materials that need to come off fire-prone public lands. 
Fueled by high winds and dry conditions, New Jersey’s largest wildfire in 15 years swept through Wharton State Forest in the Pine Barrens two weeks ago, burning more than 13,500 acres. Thankfully, no lives or homes were lost, as the blaze occurred in a remote part of New Jersey’s largest tract of public open space. Wharton State Forest encompasses 122,800 acres (192 square miles) in Burlington and Atlantic counties. While 13,500 charred acres may sound like an ecological catastrophe, it is just the opposite. Fire is an essential ingredient in making and keeping the Pine Barrens what they have been for thousands of years. “In the Pine Barrens, wildfires that are so dangerous to people and their property are usually not destructive to the natural systems,” explains Dr. Emile DeVito, New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s staff biologist. “The Pine Barrens needs hot fires to persist, as do many of its rare species.”
AROUND 1,500 FIREFIGHTERS battled multiple forest fires and several bush fires in central and northern Portugal today, following a punishing heatwave. It has prompted the government to implement a “state of contingency”. The fires have been burning in several areas since Thursday, destroying at least two homes, as nearly 250 fires were reported to have started on Friday and Saturday. The blazes follow an intense heatwave in Portugal, with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees Celsius this week, and expected to rise in the coming days. Scientists say climate change is linked to more extreme and more frequent weather events, including heatwaves and forest fires. …More than 700 soldiers were dispatched to the area today after the fires destroyed some 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of vegetation, the Civil Protection agency estimated. The fires have injured a dozen firefighters and about 20 civilians, but most were treated on the spot for breathing problems or exhaustion.