Softwood lumber prices are now at record highs, which is bad news according to the National Association of Home Builders. However, Stock analyst Charles Gross says rising prices will lift profits for producers. And given capacity limits, Gross expects lumber prices to peak above $520 per thousand in today’s dollars by 2021, up 27% from a 2017 average of $410.

In other Business news: a Catholic News Service Bishop speaks out against the US tariff on newsprint; Canada’s Freeland says she’s optimistic about NAFTA; Greenpeace ask a US court to toss out Resolute’s [amended] defamation lawsuit; Fred Chinn departs Catalyst; and Yves Laflamme succeeds Richard Garneau as Resolute CEO.

In Forestry news: Pro and con stories on the Republican’s bill to “grease the skids for more work in the woods”, IKEA acquires 25,000 acres of forest in Alabama; and Indonesia’s deforestation rate falls dramatically due to the establishment of “production forests”.

Finally, smart drones may fix humanity’s deforestation problem by planting trees cheaper and more efficiently.

— Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor