US Trade Representative Tai is under pressure from lawmakers & home builders to cut tariffs on lumber. In related news: most economists think the lumber price hike is a temporary quirk; few new sawmills are coming despite boom; BC supply constraints collide with insatiable demand; and surging prices beget forest poachers and work-site thieves, while some contractors opt for wood alternatives.

In Forestry news: FPAC pleads with feds to avoid government duplication; Ontario’s new environmental assessment rules head to court; ENGO’s say its a garage sale for the last of BC’s old-growth, BC First Nation tells Victoria to stay out of its business; and lessons learned from the Great Bear Rainforest initiative. Meanwhile, the USDA gears up for ‘dangerous‘ wildfire year, and fire season arrives in BC, Ontario and Oregon.

Finally, Rolling Stones’ Chuck Leavell celebrates Structurlam’s expansion to Arkansas.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor