On Tuesday (5-31-22), the U.S. National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that the 2022 wildfire season remains well ahead of both 2021 and its 10-year average. Currently, more than 5,300 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents across the country. Year to date through March 31, 27,409 wildfires had been reported, and they had burned 1,889,439 acres.
News in timber
Japan’s Mitsui and Nomura Enter Into an Agreement to Purchase Australia’s New Forests
On Friday, New Forests announced that Japan’s Mitsui and Nomura had entered into an agreement to purchase 100% of all the shares of New Forest. Mitsui and Nomura will provide capital to support New Forests’ strategic growth initiatives and the global expansion of its investment platform.
New Brunswick Plans to Increase Stumpage Rate Fees on Trees Coming From Crown Land
A New Brunswick official said on Monday that the government is preparing to increase what it charges forestry companies for timber coming off of Crown-owned lands. The Minister of Natural Resources and Energy Development said New Brunswick’s seven-year-old timber royalties are too low given what’s happened with the price of lumber.
Oregon Gov. Brown Signs Into Law Private Forest Accord Package
Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law the bipartisan Private Forest Accord. The package is the most comprehensive update to the Forest Practices Act since 1971, establishing new protections for salmon and other sensitive species on over 10 million acres of forestland in Oregon. The proposal seeks to meet federal standards.
U.S. National Interagency Fire Center Wildfire Update for May 23, 2022
The NIFC is reporting that one large new wildfire was reported on Sunday (5-22-22) in Texas. Nationally, there are now 14 large wildfires burning over 536,604 acres in seven states. Currently, there are 6,332 personnel dedicated to controlling these fires. Only 5 of the 14 wildfires are being reported as partially contained.
Weyerhaeuser Completes Acquisition of Timberlands in North and South Carolina
Weyerhaeuser Company announced on Thursday (5-19-22) that it had successfully completed the acquisition of 80,800 acres of high-quality timberland located in North and South Carolina from a fund managed by Campbell Global for approximately $265 million. The original announcement of this acquisition was made in April of 2022.
Mirax Group to Acquire Interfor’s Avalon Dryland Log Sort Operation in Port Mellon, B.C.
Mirax Group announced today (5-16-22) that it has reached an agreement to acquire Interfor Corporation’s Avalon Dryland Log Sort (“Avalon”) assets located in Port Mellon, BC. The acquisition will operate through a wholly owned affiliated company, Avalon Log Sort Inc. Mirax Group is a privately owned, family-based company.
U.S. National Interagency Fire Center Wildfire Releases Update for May 12, 2022
The NIFC is reporting that no large new fires were reported yesterday. Nationally, nine uncontained large fires have burned 328,189 acres. More than 4,200 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents in the Southwest and Southern areas.
U.S. National Interagency Fire Center Wildfire Releases Update for May 5, 2022
In today’s briefing, the NIFC is reporting that 1 new wildfire was burning in Colorado. Nationally, nearly 3,400 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to 10 large fires. The Southwest area continues to have the largest fire activity, where five incident management teams are assigned.
Northern Pulp Mill Closure Continues to Negatively Impact Sawmill Operations in Nova Scotia
Since the closure of Paper Excellence Company’s Northern Pulp Mill in Nova Scotia in January of 2020, local sawmill operators have seen their steady and ample supply of sawlogs continue to erode. Local sawmill and trucking company owners’ operations stories all have a common theme: The loss of the pulp market has made woodlot harvesting less viable.