The 10th consecutive monthly heat record has climate scientist hoping its an El Niño-related hangover. In related news: EU court gives mixed ruling on member-nations’ climate obligations; and climate changes hurts-and-helps pine beetle reproduction. In Forestry news: West Fraser permanently ceases use of glyphosate; BC and Namgis First Nation discuss new forestry agreement; Oregon ENGOs debate barred owl kill proposal; and Swedish researchers use chemical composition to identify illegal timber.
In other news: the Wolastoqey Nation has its say in court on New Brunswick title claim; West Fraser and Lake Babine Nation agree to consolidate forest tenure; Australia looks to expand wood energy as ENGO’s denounce similar efforts in Canada and the US; and the latest financial updates on Enviva and International Paper.
Finally, a sold-out BC Council of Forest Industries conference kicks off tomorrow evening in Vancouver… with the Tree Frog editors in tow! Hope to see you there.
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Vancouver, BC: This week in Vancouver, the annual convention of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) will bring together more than 700 local, provincial, federal, Indigenous and forestry leaders to discuss the future of the province’s forest sector. Held at the JW Marriott Parq Hotel, the convention is one of the largest gatherings of the forest sector in Western Canada and comes at a time when interest in conditions in BC’s forest industry has never been higher, and neither have the stakes. “Harvest levels on public forest lands in BC have dropped by almost half in the last five years”, said Linda Coady, President and CEO of COFI. “Since late 2022, the industry has and continues to experience a series of closures and curtailments. While the reasons for this vary and include markets, beetles, fire, industrial capacity rationalization, and new public policies, the consistent underlying factor is the access by BC mills to an economic supply of timber.”
Spanish police have arrested five members of a drugs gang… whose members had hit upon a “very sophisticated method” to hide the drugs by impregnating 16 tonnes of wood pellets used as fuel for wood burning stoves with liquid cocaine, local paper Diari de Tarragona said. Police discovered that the pellets, which had entered the country legally from South America to Spain in sea containers, were stored for three months to “cool off” before being taken to a place where the drugs were extracted. The premises had been watched for months when a lorry with a foreign number plate arrived to pick up a load of pellets and police sprung into action. In all, 920 bags of pellets, each weighing 18 kilos, were found. 
NEW BRUNSWICK — A lawyer for the Wolastoqey Nation has asked a judge to dismiss motions filed by J.D. Irving, Acadian Timber and H.J. Crabbe & Sons. They are among a couple of dozen companies that have been named in the lawsuit that own about 3.2 million acres of forested land in western New Brunswick. Renée Pelletier argued millions of acres under the firms’ control belong to Indigenous communities. Pelletier said although the Wolastoqey Nation considers the businesses “innocents” in the claim they are nonetheless in possession of property that is not rightfully theirs. “There was no land surrender.” …Besides those private lands, the Wolastoqey Nation also wants nearly five million acres of public property given back to it. The entire claim includes about 60% of New Brunswick’s territory. The judge reserved her decision on Friday. …The massive lawsuit is expected to take up to a decade unless a settlement is reached first.
TORONTO – Ontario is setting a new precedent in construction and environmental sustainability by embracing mass timber technology. This innovative step not only aims to streamline homebuilding but also boosts the province’s forestry sector, ensuring job creation across various industries. In a significant code update, Ontario plans to amend its Building Code, allowing Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction (EMTC) buildings to soar up to 18 storeys—6 storeys higher than the current limit. This change, heralded by 
Formal engagement and negotiations are underway between ‘Namgis First Nation and the Province on a joint decision-making agreement to support forest stewardship and sustainable forestry operations. “Alongside ‘Namgis First Nation, we are working with local communities and forestry operators to make sure local forests are managed sustainably, while increasing certainty in forestry operations that will help to maintain family-supporting jobs for the entire region,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. “By moving toward joint decision-making with ‘Namgis and working together with local partners, we can advance reconciliation, take care of the forests that sustain local communities and support good forestry jobs for the long term.” Through the Tree Farm Licence (TFL) 37 Forest Landscape Planning pilot project, ‘Namgis First Nation, the Province and Western Forest Products Inc. are working together toward sustainable forest management that will support forest health, benefit local jobs and advance reconciliation.
Two years ago, BBC journalists visited Canada to investigate the wood pellet industry. Their findings, broadcast in the documentary Drax: The Green Energy Scandal exposed, sent shockwaves through climate politics in the UK. …In February 2024, the BBC published a follow-up story. …Drax did not dispute these findings or that it is still sourcing wood from old-growth forests, but it claimed to be undertaking work to stop sourcing wood from official “old-growth priority deferral areas.” …However, it is primarily up to Canadian authorities, not foreign nations, to investigate and regulate the country’s biomass industry. British authorities do not have the resources to effectively monitor biomass sourcing in foreign countries, as the National Audit Office has made clear. …Source countries such as Canada profit from industrial logging, leading to concerns about conflicts of interest with regulatory enforcement. …Canada’s problems go beyond one company. Current logging practices risk ecosystem collapse.
Another month, another global heat record that has left climate scientists scratching their heads and hoping this is an El Niño-related hangover rather than a symptom of worse-than-expected planetary health. Global surface temperatures in March were 0.1C higher than the previous record for the month, set in 2016, and 1.68C higher than the pre-industrial average, according to data released on Tuesday by the Copernicus Climate Change Service. This is the 10th consecutive monthly record in a warming phase that has shattered all previous records. Over the past 12 months, average global temperatures have been 1.58C above pre-industrial levels. This, at least temporarily, exceeds the 1.5C benchmark set as a target in the Paris climate agreement but that landmark deal will not be considered breached unless this trend continues on a decadal scale. …The sharp increase in temperatures over the past year has surprised many scientists, and prompted concerns about a possible acceleration of heating.