Softwood lumber prices surged 11% last week as dealers reported strong sales and US consumer confidence rose for the second straight month. In other Business news: CN Rail plans to expand and upgrade its BC network; Northern Pulp secured a loan to keep the lights on; no buyers yet for the bankrupt Kenora Forest Products operation; Empire Recycled Fiber plans to build a new mill in Pennsylvania; and Deere has a new worldwide president of forestry and construction. 

In Forestry news: NRDC disparages FPAC’s response to their tissue exposé, as well as SFI’s proposed standards revision; a white-tailed deer invasion threatens Alberta caribou; Ontario’s Gypsy moth outbreak dates back to an 1869 silkworm breeding experiment; and in the fight against prostate cancer—extract (and drink) cork tree bark.

Finally, to our readers North and South: a belated happy Canada Day, and an early happy Independence Day.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor