News in timber

With both wildfires and petroleum-based plastics currently affecting life on earth and significantly adding to greenhouse gas emissions, the US Forest Service’s Forest Products Laboratory is invested in one solution for both by developing recyclable: next generation packing materials made from wood.

A new partnership announced last month between Envia, which turns trees and wood products into pellets that are burnt for energy, and Alder Fuels, a privately owned greed crude producer, could see a “green” aviation fuel derived from North Carolina’s trees.

The Nakia Creek Fire, which started on Sunday, October 9th, is expanding east of Vancouver, Washington. The complex doubled in size on Sunday, October 16th, which prompted authorities to order evacuations. About 400 acres have burned thus far.

On Friday, President Biden proclaimed October 16–22 as National Forest Products week. The President called upon people to join him in recognizing all Americans who are responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s forested landscapes.

The US National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported on Monday that the total number of large wildfires and complexes currently burning in the US continues to hold steady at 72, unchanged from last week’s report. More than 776,012 acres are currently burning across 6 different states.

Oregon’s Clatsop County Board of Commissioners voted 4 to 1 for a proclamation opposing a conservation plan that would limit logging in state forests. The Oregon Department of Forestry plan would protect species under the Endangered Species Act by creating protected habitat across nearly 640,000 acres.

In Oregon and Washington, wildfire season usually begins to taper off with the start of fall. This year, however, dry and unusually warm temperatures have played a role in stimulating late-season fires.

An Oregon District Court judge ruled against the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s justification for a Bureau of Land Management timber sale of nearly 18,000 acres, which includes old growth forests, because it violated the Endangered Species Act.

The US National Interagency Fire Center reported on Tuesday that the total number of large wildfires and complexes currently burning in the US dropped from 72 last Monday to 64, with more than 708,917 acres currently burning across 7 different states. Four new wildfires have been reported within the past 24 hours.