More than 500 forest industry leaders have gathered in Prince George for COFI’s annual conference to talk turkey and tariffs (and supply shortages, and pest threats and labour force turnover…). In related news: the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is hailed by the Business Council of BC, COFI and others; and FEA Canada (Wood Markets) released its annual survey of the “top 20” Canadian and US lumber producers.

In Forestry news: The BC Forest Practices Board is on the lookout for a new chair; Tolko is retooling for burnt timber; Cowichan Valley is reducing the danger of fires in “interface areas”; and Iceland is reforesting lands cleared by the Vikings a millennia ago. 

In Wood news; an engineer explains how tall wood can meet Ontario’s Building Code; mass timber is celebrated in Montreal; Toronto; and Sudbury; while the US concrete industry says this type of construction is “fueling fires nationwide“.

Finally, a back-to-the-future moment as paper straws are reintroduced as the solution to plastic straws in our landfills; and cell towers are disguised as… pine trees!

–Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor