BC applauds Pinnacle’s pellet deal with Japan for its value-added and clean energy aspects, while others wonder if there’s enough wood waste to go around given sawmill closures. In other Business news: builders remain upbeat despite drop in US housing starts; Western Forest Products and the USW are back in mediation; and Weyerhaeuser’s ex-finance manager is charged with theft. 

In Wood Product news: prefabricated wood-frame construction boosts mid-rise affordability in BC, the US Congress and EU eye wood buildings as a carbon sink; and watchmaker Swatch’s Swiss headquarters is a head-turner. Meanwhile: critics speak out on BC’s wolf kill; Trump’s plan to log the Tongass; and Indonesia’s palm forest recovery program; and scientists point to downside of tree planting as a solution to climate change.

Finally, microscopic mites as a biological weapon against the bark beetle.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor