US says softwood talks hinge on Canada addressing subsidy concerns, not the challenge of rising inflation. In other Business news: CN Rail says union rejected 10% pay increase; two BC public unions approve strike vote; Canada’s inflation rate hits 7.7%; and US homebuilding at 13 month low. In Wood Product news: USDA innovation grants, Seattle building code limitations; Arizona’s sustainable wood use; and FPInnovations on harvesting burnt wood.
In Forestry/Climate news: Canada provides update on its 2 Billion Trees program; BC’s old growth blockade coverage; the forest fight in West Kootenay; Nova Scotia group’s protest victory; Arizona’s fire-scarred forests; Californias carbon plan; and Britain’s vanishing rainforests.
Finally, three years after its announcement, Carlsberg in full trials of fibre beer bottle.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
The United States is open to fresh negotiations with Canada to resolve a longstanding dispute over U.S. tariffs on softwood lumber but a core sticking point remains, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on Wednesday. Tai told a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee meeting that a new agreement requires the Canadian government to address U.S. concerns that its policies amount to subsidies for Canadian producers. “When and if Canadian industry and the Canadian government are ready to address those issues, we stand ready and willing to enter into negotiations,” Tai said. U.S. homebuilders have clamored for Joe Biden’s administration to remove the duties. …“Canada has been at the table since the beginning, we are glad to hear that the US is ready to meet us there,” said Alice Hansen, for Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng.
Nanaimo, BC — Mosaic Forest Management announced today a $20,000 commitment to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Vancouver Island (BBBSCVI), a leading child and youth mentoring charity. With this shared commitment, Mosaic and BBBSCVI aim to provide critical, supportive relationships for young people in the central Vancouver Island region. This donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters is generated from funds collected through the sale of firewood cutting permits and doubled through a matching contribution from Mosaic. Firewood permits give local communities access to affordable firewood for personal use. Hundreds of firewood permits are sold across Mosaic’s managed forest lands annually, with the proceeds going to a deserving organization benefiting local communities. “As a former big brother, I know mentorship programs can change lives, and I’m proud to be able to make this commitment to Big Brothers Big Sisters Central Vancouver Island,” said Jeff Zweig, President & CEO of Mosaic.
Just as once soaring lumber prices topple back to earth, Boise Cascade has announced its acquisition of Coastal Plywood Company for 
FPInnovations’ anticipated course, the 
Analysts have calculated that utilizing wood in 80% of new residential building projects in Europe alone would absorb 55 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). This would effectively halve the CO2 annual emissions caused by the construction industry in Europe. Meanwhile, supply chain issues, rising energy costs, and scarcity of materials highlight a need for the construction industry to shift to more sustainable, locally sourced building materials like wood. In the twentieth century, construction with load-bearing lumber was largely replaced with concrete and steel-based methods. This was a result of the need to build quickly… with on-site concrete casting and prefabricated steel framing significantly speeding up construction projects. Wood was also maligned somewhat due to the fire risk it posed. Large nineteenth-century and pre-war buildings made with dry, often over-exposed wood frames were a factor in a number of large-scale and tragic fires in built-up cities in the early twentieth century. However, recent years have started to see a shift in this trend.
Prince Albert, SK – Calling all teachers and educators in the Prince Albert area! If you are looking for a unique opportunity to bring forestry into your classroom, the Canadian Institute of Forestry/Institut forestier du Canada (CIF-IFC) is organizing a Teachers’ Forestry Tour and you are invited to register! Hosted in collaboration with the CIF-IFC Saskatchewan Section, the Teachers’ Forestry Tour will take place from July 27-28, 2022 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. With funding in part from the Government of Canada, the CIF-IFC will be hosting and coordinating Teachers’ Forestry Tours across Canada over a two-year period (2021-2023). …The tour will inform teachers about basic forestry concepts, including sustainable forest management, Indigenous participation in forestry/traditional ecological knowledge and the links between forests and climate change.
Ecosystem Marketplace recently signed a three-year agreement with Forest Stewardship Council to collaborate and develop shared insights regarding carbon markets and non-carbon benefits as they pertain to FSC certified forests. …Through this collaboration FSC seeks to connect FSC-certified forest managers with new markets, help project managers market FSC benefits and enable carbon markets to drive value to FSC certified forests. Ecosystem Marketplace has tracked global carbon market transactions and associated benefits “beyond carbon” for more than 16 years. …The shared workplan includes publishing a brief discussion paper focusing on non-carbon benefits of forest carbon projects and the overlap with FSC certified forests. …The work will begin by cross mapping FSC certified forests with carbon market data that EM has compiled for forestry projects.
The U.S. Forest Service failed to account for the effects of climate change when it conducted a controlled burn in April that prompted the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history, the agency said in a report. The agency depended on multiple miscalculations, poor weather data and underestimated how dry conditions were in the Southwest when crews ignited a prescribed burn that led to the ongoing Calf Canyon/Hermits Creek fire, according to the agency’s 80-page review. The blaze, which has burned more than 341,000 acres and destroyed hundreds of homes, comes amid a prolonged drought and extreme temperatures in the region. …Drought, extreme weather, wind conditions and unpredictable weather changes have become significant challenges for the Forest Service, which uses prescribed burns as a way to lower the risk of a destructive fire. …The review discovered that “numerous details regarding situational awareness of weather in the fire environment were overlooked or misrepresented”
OTTAWA, ON 
SACRAMENTO — California air regulators are likely to hear a barrage of criticism Thursday on a plan to slash fossil fuel use and reach carbon neutrality by 2045, a proposal that would require a sweeping shift in how the state powers its massive economy in the face of climate change. It will be the California Air Resources Board’s first public discussion of this year’s draft 