snippets from recent issue of the *fabulous* madison’s Sawmill Curtailment Lookout . . .
Canadian Wood Council Unveils Five New Environmental Product Declarations
Canadian Wood Council unveiled five new Environmental Product Declarations for Canadian softwood lumber, OSB, plywood, trusses, and prefabricated wood I-joists. According to CWC, the declarations provide environmental data on the potential impacts associated with the cradle-to-grave life cycle stages of these wood products.
Developed as regionalized, industry-wide business-to-business Type III declarations, the EPDs comply with the highest international standards. This ensures third-party verified environmental impact data, supporting designers, builders, and policy-makers in making informed, sustainable material choices.
SOURCE: Daily Commercial News
USDA Designates 113 million Acres for Emergency Logging
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has authorized emergency logging across 113 million acres of National Forest System land, enabling the Forest Service to accelerate timber harvesting by limiting environmental review to a single proposed action and exempting projects from pre-decisional objections thus increasing domestic timber production by 25%. The memo classifies this acreage, equal to 59% of federally managed forest land, as under “emergency situation” status based on wildfire, insect, and disease risks, according to the USDA.
The designated area includes 67 million acres facing high or very high wildfire risk and 79 million acres threatened by insects and disease, with 34 million acres overlapping both categories. These figures are based on USDA assessments including the 2023 Wildfire Hazard Potential report and forest health evaluations under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. The USDA manages 144 million forested acres nationwide, with 43 million considered suitable for timber production.
SOURCE: Government Press Release