The warmest winter on record begets spring warnings in Canada, the US and around the world. In related news: David Suzuki says Ontario is logging too fast; unions want more say in the future of BC forest policy; a fired New Brunswick forestry college instructor seeks compensation; CalFire announces $10M for forest conservation; and Drax refutes ENGO old growth logging claims.
In Business news: what does Enviva’s bankruptcy mean for North Carolina; former Canfor Taylor mill to become a Western Canada logistics hub; the proposed Memphis urban lumber sawmill is rejected; more Seeley Lake, Montana mill closure aftershocks; and Mercer Mass Timber’s new construction services division.
Finally, tomorrow is the UN-declared International Day of Forests. How will you partake?
Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor
Recycling is supposed to reduce the need to produce more of the product or material that’s being recycled. Recycling paper should mean we cut down fewer trees. …When it works properly, recycling reduces waste and the need to extract more natural resources. But when we drop some things off to be “recycled,” there’s no guarantee that we’re actually cutting back on the total amount of waste produced. That’s especially true for some forms of plastic. If you shop online, you’re familiar with receiving some of your items in a flimsy plastic envelope. Some of that plastic packaging says it is recyclable. But how much of Amazon’s plastic packaging is actually getting recycled? The true answer is a lot less than you might think. U.S. PIRG Education Fund researchers tracked Amazon plastic packaging to see where it ended up after being delivered to one of the drop-off locations directed to by the label. 
The population of urban areas worldwide is projected to increase by more than 2 billion in the next thirty years. Many of these individuals will require new housing. However, constructing homes using traditional materials would result in a significant release of carbon dioxide. Research conducted by the United Nations indicates that concrete, steel, glass, and bricks, commonly used in construction, contribute to approximately 9% of global CO2 emissions. …Mass timber has emerged as an apparent solution, leading to a notable trend in architectural practices. …According to Stephanie Carlisle, a senior researcher at the University of Washington’s Carbon Leadership Forum, both corporate clients and designers are apprehensive about overstating the climate benefits of mass timber. They are seeking robust systems to support their claims. Carlisle contributed to developing tallyLCA, a software tool managed by the nonprofit organisation Building Transparency, which estimates the environmental impact of building designs.
Tree planting pledges have become a near-universal sign of corporate environmental commitment, despite widespread project failures, negative unintended consequences and a lack of accountability. Over 100 companies from 148 countries have pledged to the World Economic Forum’s Trillion Tree campaign. And a recent study found that 98 percent of Fortune 500 companies in France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom have been involved in tree planting projects over the past two decades. … [Tree planting is] a winning issue for businesses and politicians looking to gain favor with key stakeholders. But is it the right strategy to solve the biodiversity and climate crises? Evidence suggests no, and here’s why. Tree planting programs often lead to a loss of biodiversity. …Tree planting programs are often pitched as providing economic benefits to local communities, including smallholder farmers. But they fail when planted trees are not maintained. …Planting trees is not the same as protecting or restoring forests.
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions. …Canada shattered temperature records this winter, and it wasn’t close, Phillips said, referring to national data going back to 1948. While winter’s end is typically marked by the equinox, climatologists look at what’s known as meteorological winter, the three-month period from December to February. Over that period, Canada was 5.2 C warmer than average, said Phillips. That’s 1.1 degrees warmer than the previous record set in 2009-2010. …Almost all of Western Canada, northern Ontario and parts of northern Quebec were under drought conditions as of the end of February, says a recent update from Environment Canada. Parts of southern Alberta and northern British Columbia reported conditions typically seen once every 50 years.
The operator of pellet plants in Houston and Burns Lake is calling assertions it is chipping old-growth wood for pellets “inaccurate and misleading.” But Drax, a multi-national user of wood pellets, which it burns to help turn turbines to generate electricity, admits that nine truckloads of wood from old growth areas were mistakenly taken to its plants. “For context, this was nine out of almost 8,000 truckloads delivered to Drax’s pellet plants over the three months in question – delivering equivalent to around 0.15 per cent of the material received,” the company said in a March 13 release. The assertion Drax was converting old growth into pellets came from two environmental groups said the company’s claims in 2023 it would not be taking old-growth wood did not reflect what it was actually doing. …Michelle Connolly from Conservation North said Drax received 103 loads of logs at its Burns Lake and Houston pellet plants from old growth areas as late as January 2024.
NORTH CAROLINA — The 
