In light of the 2017 wildfire season, the BC government has declared May 5th as Wildfire Community Preparedness Day and launched a FireSmart Homeowner’s Manual. In related news: Ontario declares forest fires to be a No Drone Zone; and there’s a sense of relief in Idaho now that the Forest Service has more cash.

In the US, it’s Air Quality Awareness Week and the USDA Forest Service is highlighting the threat wildfire smoke poses to health and safety. In other safety news: a study on the mill shooting in Nanaimo BC focuses on how to prevent mill-workplace violence.

Elsewhere: CN Rail purchases 350 new lumber cars; Universal Forest Products acquires four companies; and SFI elects four new board members.

Finally, FPInnovations speaks to the climate change benefits of timber bridges; and the Softwood Lumber Board highlights the “trickledown effect” of pursuing 18-storey mass timber buildings.

–Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor