Biden’s executive order on old-growth will have to balance preservation with flexibility to assure forest health. In related news: Arizona wildfire triples in size—more homes evacuated; and burnt trees could disrupt California water supplies. Elsewhere: Alberta’s caribou recovery plans; US forest industry expansion; and housing market slowdowns in the US and Canada.
In Wood Product news: BC opens wood-focused Vietnam trade office; Toronto’s timber passive house a game-changer; UK’s mass timber rise called meteoric; Switzerland’s tall timber tower; and the Southern Forest Products Assocication’s positive offshore market outlook.
Finally, just in time for Earth Day, new guidance to combat greenwashing and build trust.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
President Biden will sign an executive order on Friday laying the groundwork for protecting some of the biggest and oldest trees in America’s forests. …Biden will direct the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to inventory mature and old-growth forests nationwide. He will also require the agencies to identify threats to these trees and to use that information to write policies that protect them. The president’s order, however, will not ban logging of mature and old-growth trees, they added, and the administration is not considering a nationwide prohibition. It will include initiatives aimed at curbing deforestation overseas, promoting economic development in regions with major timber industries and calculating the economic value of other natural resources such as wetlands. …In writing new policies, the administration will also have to walk a line between preserving older trees on federal land and giving managers enough flexibility to assure those forests’ health.
The Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA) recently hosted its board of directors meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Eric Gee, SFPA Executive Director, provided an 
UK — Sustainalytics’ Justin Cheng details the growth of mass timber as a substitute construction material, and explains why concrete is here to not stay. …According to the International Energy Agency, nearly 40% of global carbon emissions originate from the construction process and operation of buildings. …As an innovation in the industry, mass timber construction emits significantly less carbon than traditional concrete and metal structures, while modular construction ensures usability across many building types. …We anticipate mass timber will grow in appeal to consumers and developers over the next several years. Drivers include further global building code changes that allow for taller wood construction projects, technological advances in material and engineering solutions to allow for more cost-effective and widespread adoption of mass timber, and increased investor and consumer awareness.
More than $600,000 in provincial grants has been given to West Kootenay communities to support wildfire-risk-reduction initiatives, including nearly $150,000 to Nelson. Out of a total of $609,000, the City of Nelson secured $147,667 to assist in education, planning, emergency planning, cross-training, interagency co-operation, FireSmart activities in residential areas and fuel management. Overall, the provincial government provided more than $2.1 million in grants to 13 local governments in the Southeast Fire Centre to support wildfire-risk-reduction initiatives. The Community Resiliency Investment (CRI) grants are part of more than $13 million provided to 107 recipients throughout B.C. following the latest application intake in the program’s FireSmart Community Funding and Supports category. …The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) operates the FireSmart Community Funding and Supports program, processing grant applications in partnership with the Ministry of Forests and the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society of British Columbia.
Time has run out and now forestry must change very quickly. UN climate change report… “About half of total net [agriculture, forestry and other land use] emissions are from CO2 [land use, land use change, and forestry], predominantly from deforestation.” …I remember in the 1980s growing up here in Port Alberni, the forest companies were talking about selective logging, small forestry, and reforestation. I know politics and social media have made it feel like any reduction in logging is a threat to people, but it isn’t. We do have companies that create jobs by using every last inch of all types of wood. Port Alberni can be and needs to be a leader in creating and managing living forests.
Montréal, Québec – Groupements forestiers Québec …with its more than 26,000 private forest landowners, and FPInnovations… have been awarded $6,678,540 as part of the 
MISSOULA – A destructive beetle has caused billions of dollars in damage to our nation’s forests. …when the little beetles spread to epidemic levels the results are devastating. There are 600 species of bark beetles in the United States but as climate change prevails certain species are expanding their range and causing an epidemic on trees. One of these species — the mountain pine beetle — has killed nearly 100,000 square miles of trees across western North America over the past 20 years, affecting 18 million hectares of pine forest. …a single mating pair can reproduce more than 12 million beetles a year. …the U.S Forest Service says there still isn’t a clear understanding of how bark beetle outbreaks affect wildfires. Increased CO2 levels are the catalyst that caused these invasions, but the beetles are also contributing to the carbon dioxide released into our atmosphere. …Restoration efforts emphasizing diversity are considered viable management strategies in this battle.
Semi-State forestry company Coillte, which manages Ireland’s State-owned woodlands, has launched a major new strategy to optimise the benefits from forestry. The company aims to massively expand carbon capture, forestry planting, biodiversity and recreational facilities between now and 2050. Coillte manages 440,000 hectares of forest in Ireland, amounting to 7% of the country’s land area. With its new strategy, the company aims to further enhance its sustainability, while continuing to develop the forestry and wood product sector and providing for enhanced biodiversity and recreational activities. …It will ramp up sustainable production of wood for the building industry, promoting wood product use and timber homes, increase the area of its forestry being managed primarily for nature from 20% to 50%, and double the number of recreation areas for the public to 500.
