A poll saying Canadians want action to protect forests is “disingenuous,” part of anti-Canada trade campaign. In other Business news: Unifor targets Resolute for contract bargaining; GreenFirst challenges US softwood duty rate; LacWood receives Ontario funding; ENGO group sues Weyerhaeuser in Longview, Washington; and Rayonier AM achieves ecolabel standard for fluff pulp. Elsewhere: the UK ups import tariffs on Russian wood.
Other stories include: a pro and a con on the biomass industry; mass timber features in California, Oregon and Sweden; wildfire trends in Montana; and forest certification and climate adaptation in North Carolina.
Finally, a WIRED feature on stalling the climate crisis with genetically engineered trees.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Vancouver, BC – Western Forest Products Inc. today announced that it has earned a spot on the 2022 Report on Business Women Lead Here list, an annual editorial benchmark identifying best-in-class executive gender diversity in corporate Canada. Established in 2020 by Report on Business magazine, the Women Lead Here initiative applies a proprietary research methodology to determine Canadian corporations with the highest degree of gender diversity among executive ranks. This initiative highlights businesses that have made tangible, systemic, organizational progress related to executive gender parity. “We are proud to have one of the most gender diverse Board and executive management teams in the industry,” said Jennifer Foster, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Human Resources, Western Forest Products. “As we celebrate this recognition of women in leadership roles, I would also like to acknowledge the valued contributions of all of the women on the Western team. 
The 
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/MeyerMemorialTrust_16_JeremyBittermann-eec710de9f4844a5be78a310379d5d48.jpg)
The people of Prince George are going to get screwed and their lives will change for the worse when they see no more logging trucks. No more logging trucks means no more billions of dollars will be pumped into the local economy. It is predicted that that up to 8,000 families that depend on forestry jobs for their income in the north will be forced onto government assistance, which means they no longer will be able to support the local economy. Businesses will close and others will be forced to reduce staff and tens of thousands more families will be forced onto government assistance in the north. Prince George will no longer be a nice place to live because nobody will have any money. This is the NDP’s plan for Northern BC. …Don’t you think it’s time to say no to the NDP plan or do you prefer all the extra time off you will have on government assistance?
The Anacla Old-Growth Summit, postponed last November, has been rescheduled to April 28. Tsawak-qin Forestry Limited Partnership and Huu-ay-aht First Nations are co-hosting the event, which was deferred due to provincial travel restrictions. Tayii Ha’wilth Derek Peters (Head Hereditary Chief, Huu-ay-aht First Nations) and Elected Chief Councillor Robert J. Dennis, Sr. will host the summit, which will bring together 50 coastal Indigenous nations to share information on their stewardship and resource management planning and decision making processes. “As sovereign nations, we know how much old growth is left and we know the key priority is planning for what happens in the long term,” Dennis Sr. said. …In stark contrast to public conversations to date, this summit will reflect the depth and broad range of professionals, academics and subject matter experts who advise sovereign nations. …The summit will also be an opportunity to introduce the Indigenous Witwak Guardians who protect, monitor and enhance Tsawak-qin Forestry operations. 
MONTANA — There is no silver bullet solution when it comes to adapting communities to wildfire in Montana and across the West, experts told state lawmakers. The Environmental Quality Council held a wildfire panel last week to hear about trends, mitigation and potential policy implications. The meeting comes as much of Montana faces widespread drought and pushes by state and federal officials to increase the pace and scale of forest management. …When it comes to mitigation, Mark Finney, a U.S. Forest Service researcher, told the council that logging or thinning alone has not been shown to prevent large fires burning under extreme conditions. ..“If we stop (at logging or thinning), if we do not follow with prescribed burning, we don’t have a fuel treatment,” he said. “All of the evidence … over the past 80 years, all of the research has shown fire is the essential fuel treatment.”
ALASKA — The Roadless Rule is supposed to protect wild places. What went wrong in the Tongass National Forest? …The Tongass has been the heart of the logging industry in Alaska for decades, starting in the 1950s with the arrival of pulp mills. It was at its zenith in 1990, employing crews in the thousands to clear-cut old growth trees. But attitudes were shifting. …In 2001, in the waning days of his administration, President Bill Clinton issued the Roadless Area Conservation Policy, also known as the Roadless Rule. …Governors from both parties have fought the Roadless Rule in federal court. Now, Naukati Bay and the other communities nestled within Tongass are on the front lines of the debate over clear-cutting old-growth trees in the 21st century.
Tree planting is a climate goal everyone can agree on. …What if existing trees just aren’t good enough at storing carbon? If scientists could find a way to increase trees’ carbon-sucking potential, we’d be unlocking more cost-effective carbon capture with every tree planted. … We just have to make it. …Now a Californian startup has taken the same approach [inserting new genes into tobacco plants, scientists caused them to recycle a waste product of photosynthesis back into a molecule the plant could use to grow], but this time with poplar trees. In a non-peer-reviewed