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US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L Rollins announced the US Forest Service has filed a proposed rule to rescind in its entirety the national 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a one-size-fits-all restriction that, according the government, has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to wildfire risk reduction work across large swaths of America’s national forests. Source: Timberbiz “Our forests can’t afford another decade of inaction. Across the country, we’ve watched preventable conditions – overgrown stands, insect outbreaks and disease – turn healthy landscapes into tinderboxes,” said Mr Rollins. “For too long, outdated restrictions have kept tens of millions of forested acres off-limits to the very treatments that improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk to our communities. Today, we filed a proposal to restore authority to local forest managers who know the land best, removing the barriers that have kept them from doing the work the land demands. It’s time to turn the page on the failed roadless rule and return our forests to health and productivity.” For 25 years, the 2001 Roadless Rule restricted road construction and limited the Forest Service’s ability to carry out critical active management work within inventoried roadless areas. Today, that includes more than 44 million acres of the 193-million-acre National Forest System. The rescission is intended to prioritize local agency decision-making over regulatory rules that are the same across the country, regardless of specific land management issues and needs. “This proposed rule is commonsense policy sought since the first Trump administration. In the years since, the need for it has only become more apparent,” said Deputy Secretary Stephen A. Vaden. “It is a credit to President Trump that we can begin to put into place a rule that will allow us to properly manage our national forests, because the first step to managing forests is to have access to them.” The agency will seek public comment on the proposal and on a draft of the environmental impact statement filed today in the Federal Register. The rescission removes national designation of roadless areas but does not mandate timber cutting or road construction. The action removes regulatory burden and sends decisions about roadless areas to the local national forest managers. “Active forest management is not an option. It’s essential,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “More than 40% of inventoried roadless areas, primarily in the West, have high or very high wildfire hazard potential. And only 5% of those areas have received hazardous fuels reduction treatments since 2014. “At the same time, more than a quarter of these lands, 11.3 million acres, are already near existing roads. Acting now, thoughtfully and decisively, is the best way to restore the balance, reduce wildfire risk, and secure the long-term health of our forests and neighbouring communities.” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said that for 25 years, the heavy thumb of Washington DC has hindered Montana’s ability to properly manage wildfire risk and road development on nearly 60% of Forest Service land across the Treasure State. “Today’s long overdue decision will empower states like Montana to pursue proper forest management on federal lands with local communities in mind. I’m grateful to President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Rollins for their strong leadership in restoring common sense to active forest management.” The proposed rescission reflects the administration’s commitment to return authority to local line officers and ensure they have the tools needed to restore forest health and productivity. The rescission aligns with Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens, Executive Order 14225, Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production, Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, and Executive Order 14153, Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential. Returning roadless-area decisions to forest-level land management planning provides flexibility the national rule did not. Future land management decisions would be based on natural resource conditions and needs and informed by states, tribes, and communities. Rescinding the rule allows forest managers to address watershed, economic, and wildfire-risk conditions within the sideboards of existing laws, regulations, and policy. That would put those decisions within the same planning framework that guides individual plans throughout the National Forest System. More than 95% of inventoried roadless areas are in 10 Western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The proposed rule does not apply to national forests in Colorado and Idaho because those lands are under separate state-specific roadless regulations.

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Combining drone data and machine learning can help cover a lot more ground in monitoring forest soil health, University of Alberta research shows. Source: Timberbiz Using both tools to map and monitor soil fungal diversity — a key indicator of a healthy forest ecosystem — proved highly effective and could help ease the need for taking boots-on-the-ground soil samples over huge areas of forest, says Dr. Cameron Carlyle, a professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences and a co-author on the study. “To understand patterns across the landscape relies heavily on manual soil collection and DNA sequencing across many locations, which means it’s labour-intensive and expensive,” he notes. “But by integrating remote sensing data — information collected from drones — with soil measurements and machine learning, the research provides a more cost-effective and scalable way to map out fungal soil diversity.” Keeping track of that diversity is vital, adds Wanwan Yu, who led the research as a visiting PhD researcher in Carlyle’s lab. “Soil fungi are central to forest function, influencing nutrient cycling, decomposition and tree growth,” she said. “Without that monitoring, we risk losing critical information on biodiversity patterns, ecosystem stability and the ability to manage and conserve forests effectively, particularly in the face of environmental change.” The study, conducted in a 40-year-old planted forest located in a nature reserve in China, looked at alpha diversity — the number of different fungal species living in one specific spot — and beta diversity — how much the types of fungal species change from one area to another across the forest. The team collected 538 soil samples from a 26-hectare area and used DNA sequencing to identify the different types of fungi present. Drones were also flown over the forest to collect high-resolution images, measure tree heights and track how much light the leaves reflected, gauging factors such as chlorophyll content and water levels. The information was then processed by a smart computer program called a random forest model to test whether the drone data could reliably predict what was happening in the soil fungi community. The results showed that host tree species, the landscape and soil properties jointly shaped fungal patterns. Soil fungal diversity changes significantly depending on tree species, as well as among trees of the same species, by creating different micro-environments that shape the fungal community. Nor was there one single driving factor in soil fungal diversity. Rather, the variety and the shifting patterns of fungal species across the forest were influenced by different combinations of environmental factors, the study showed. The research also revealed that machine learning was successful in predicting about 53% of the beta diversity of fungi, and did a moderate job of predicting alpha diversity, ranging from 28% to 45%, depending on the specific measurement used. While the combined high-tech approach used in the study can’t completely replace more detailed, localized information provided only through hands-on field sampling of soil, it could improve the coverage and efficiency of monitoring general diversity patterns across huge, varied areas of forest, Yu suggests. “It helps extend information from limited sampling points — which can miss important spatial patterns and vulnerable biodiversity hotspots — to broader landscapes that would be difficult or costly to monitor using traditional methods alone.” The work provides a practical way to include belowground biodiversity in forest restoration, conservation and long-term monitoring efforts, Carlyle adds. “This tool allows forest managers, reclamation companies and conservation researchers to efficiently monitor underground soil health to support better long-term land management and restoration.”

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A school-based traineeship creating a pathway for young people into timber manufacturing careers has been named a finalist in the Industry Collaboration category of the 2026 South Australian Training Awards. Source: Timberbiz The Timber and Wood Products Operations Traineeship brings together the Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub (GTFIH), Group Training Employment (GTE), LITA Training and host employers Porta Products, OneFortyOne, AAM Timber and Timberlink. Trainees remain at school while completing paid employment, nationally recognised training and workplace experience across the four host businesses. Developed in response to a shared need for skilled, work-ready production operators, the program provides an entry point into timber manufacturing, with opportunities to progress into further training, employment and technical roles. The program grew from the Green Triangle Forestry Skills Centre Pilot, which established local delivery of the Certificate II and Certificate III in Timber and Wood Products Operations. All five trainees in the inaugural 2025 cohort successfully completed the traineeship and Certificate II, with a second cohort now underway. The Green Triangle is one of Australia’s most significant forestry and timber processing regions. Continued investment in manufacturing capability, new timber products, automation and process technology is also changing the skills required within modern production environments. GTFIH Chair Dr Ruth Schubert said the finalist recognition highlighted the importance of developing local skills alongside industry investment. “The Green Triangle is home to a nationally significant timber industry, and we are continuing to see major investment in processing, manufacturing and technology across the region,” Dr Schubert said. “That creates exciting opportunities for young people, but also means we need to develop the skilled workforce required to support the industry into the future. To have this collaboration recognised at a state level is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved.” GTFIH Workforce Development Manager Lara Kroeger said the traineeship allowed young people to experience an industry they may otherwise know little about. “Across the four host businesses, trainees experience different products, technologies and production systems, while seeing the core skills that connect the industry and the range of careers that can grow from an entry-level production role,” Ms Kroeger said. GTFIH is also working with employers to explore a similar school-based traineeship linked to the Certificate II in Forest Operations, extending the approach into other parts of the forestry value chain. The winner of the Industry Collaboration Award will be announced at the South Australian Training Awards Gala Presentation Dinner in Adelaide on Friday 11 September 2026.

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The New Zealand Forest Owners Association (NZFOA), Eastland Wood Council (EWC), Forest Industry Contractors Association (FICA) and Ngāti Porou Forests have jointly backed the Government’s decision to appoint Doug Leeder as an independent facilitator to support land transition and long-term forestry management in Tairāwhiti. Source: Timberbiz NZFOA Chief Executive Dr Elizabeth Heeg says the appointment provides an opportunity to make progress on difficult questions around land use, woody debris and forestry-related environmental issues. “Forestry wants a system that protects the environment while allowing businesses to keep investing and operating responsibly in the region,” Ms Heeg said. “Tairāwhiti needs to see decision-making that recognises where land use has to change, while allowing forestry to continue on land where it remains appropriate. “Bringing Government, Gisborne District Council, iwi, communities and industry together with an independent facilitator gives us a practical way to work through those issues.” Eastland Wood Council Chairman Julian Kohn says decisions about forestry have consequences for everyone living in Tairāwhiti. “NZIER research has shown forestry accounts for 7.9 per cent of Tairāwhiti’s GDP, the highest proportional contribution of any region in New Zealand. Around $295 million per year is added to the regional economy through forestry and logging, support services and wood processing,” he said. “We want environmental issues addressed, but the decisions made through this process also have to recognise the scale of forestry’s contribution to Tairāwhiti and the communities that depend on it.” Ngāti Porou Forests Chairman Whaimutu Dewes says decisions about land use have long-term consequences for iwi landowners and communities. “For iwi landowners, there is a responsibility to look after the whenua for generations to come but also to create opportunities for our people today. Forestry supports whānau by generating employment and providing income from whenua to sustain our communities,” Mr Dewes said. “Bringing iwi, communities, Government, Council and industry together gives us a better chance of making decisions that achieve both.” Forest Industry Contractors Association Chief Executive Rowan Struthers says contractors and forestry workers will bring an important operational perspective to the process. “Decisions about forestry directly affect crews, trucking companies, machinery operators and local businesses,” Mr Struthers said. “Our members want high environmental standards and clear expectations, but those expectations also have to work on the ground. “The experience of the people carrying out harvesting and other forestry work will be important as practical solutions are developed.”

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Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT) has appointed Craig Taylor and Calton Frame as Non-Executive Directors of the Sustainable Timber Tasmania Board, following approval by the Cabinet and Governor-in-Council. Source: Timberbiz Craig Taylor is a highly regarded forestry and governance professional with more than 40 years’ experience across forest management, wood products manufacturing, commercial strategy and industry leadership. He began his career with the Forestry Commission of NSW before joining Boral Wood Products and then Wesfi working in timber and wood product sales.  He subsequently worked in forestry consulting at Jaakko Pöyry before joining The Fifth Estate Consultancy where he is currently a director. He has significant board experience as Chair of Forest and Wood Products Australia and Director of PF Olsen Limited. Mr Taylor brings extensive expertise in forestry operations, corporate governance, investment and divestment of forestry assets and strategy. Calton Frame is an experienced finance, risk and governance professional with a strong background in Tasmania’s forestry sector. His career includes both natural and planted forest management initially with North Forest Products and then Gunns where he gained major project development and financing experience and ultimately managing Gunns on behalf of the liquidators as the CEO. More recently he was Business Development Manager and Company Secretary at Scotch Oakburn school in Launceston. Mr Frame brings significant expertise in governance, strategy and risk management and financial stewardship in forestry and education. He has both practical experience and deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the forestry industry.

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A secure domestic timber supply will be essential to meeting Australia’s future housing needs, according to the Housing Industry Association. HIA Chief Executive Industry and Policy Simon Croft speaking at the launch of National Forestry Day yesterday, said Australia’s forestry and timber industries played a vital role in supporting housing construction, regional economies and the nation’s growing population. Source: Timberbiz “Australia’s rising population will require hundreds of thousands of additional homes in the years ahead, and a secure domestic supply of timber is fundamental to achieving that outcome,” Mr Croft said. “On National Forestry Day, it is important to recognise the thousands of Australians working across the forestry and timber supply chain who make an essential contribution to housing, regional communities and the broader economy.” Mr Croft said the residential building industry relies heavily on a stable supply of locally produced timber products, including structural framing, engineered wood products, flooring, cladding and other essential building materials. “Timber remains one of the most important building materials used in Australian homes and is a cornerstone of residential construction across the country,” he said. “A strong domestic forestry sector gives builders and consumers’ confidence that key building materials will be available when needed and at competitive prices.” Mr Croft said recent years had highlighted the importance of supply chain resilience and the need for long-term planning to support future housing demand. “The experience of recent years demonstrated how quickly supply constraints can affect housing affordability, construction costs and project delivery timelines,” he said. “As governments work to increase housing supply across Australia, it is critical that building material supply keeps pace with demand.” HIA supports policies that encourage long-term investment in forestry resources, timber processing capacity and regional manufacturing to strengthen Australia’s supply chain resilience. “Australia needs a long-term vision for timber supply that recognises the role forestry plays in supporting housing construction, regional employment and economic growth,” Mr Croft said. “Investment decisions made today will determine whether future generations have access to the building materials needed to construct the homes, schools, hospitals and infrastructure our growing population will require.” Mr Croft said sustainable forestry and responsible timber production should be recognised as important contributors to Australia’s housing future. “The forestry and timber sector supports jobs, regional communities and the delivery of new housing across the country,” he said. “Ensuring a secure and sustainable timber supply chain will be essential to meeting Australia’s housing needs and supporting national economic growth for decades to come.

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Australia’s sustainable forest and forest products industries were celebrated yesterday as part of National Forestry Day to highlight the sector’s vital contribution to the nation’s economy and increasing housing supply. Source: Timberbiz National Forestry Day is a once-a-year opportunity to embrace and showcase an industry generating more than $24 billion in economic value and supporting 180,000 jobs. “From regional areas to capital cities, National Forestry Day is all about raising awareness among policymakers, elected representatives and the wider community about the many essential benefits of Australia’s innovative forest industries,” AFPA acting Chief Executive Officer Richard Hyett said. “Our sector is truly a growing success story.” This year’s theme, ‘Grown for Australian homes’, highlights the fundamental role of sustainably produced local timber and wood in meeting Australia’s housing and construction needs.  From timber house frames, flooring and furniture to paper, tissues and packaging, forest products are an essential part of Australian life. “Unlike other everyday items, timber and wood-fibre products are renewable and can help tackle climate change by storing carbon and providing alternatives to more emissions-intensive materials,” Mr Hyett said. “As Australia’s sixth-largest manufacturing sector, the forest products industry also proudly supports around 80,000 direct and 100,000 indirect jobs mainly in regional areas, while the national plantation estate stores an estimated 258 million tonnes of CO₂-e. “We encourage everyone to celebrate this important day through workplace events, tree planting, community activities, visits from elected representatives or by sharing National Forestry Day content online and using #NatForestryDay26. “Australian-made forestry products are critical to our daily lives – and today is about celebrating what our industry provides every day, including flooring, decking, furniture, pallets, packaging, and power poles.” National Forestry Day was first launched in 2022 and continues to provide a positive opportunity to recognise the people, innovation and sustainable products that keep Australia growing.

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Forest scientists have welcomed the deferral of the Senate vote on the Improved Native Forest Management Method (INFM) to 15 September, saying the additional four weeks should be used to publish the modelling behind the method and correct its accounting. Source: Timberbiz The disallowance motion, lodged by NSW Nationals Senator Ross Cadell, had been listed for debate yesterday. Forestry Australia President Dr Michelle Freeman said the time should go into the technical work. “The deferral is welcome. Four weeks is enough to publish the modelling and correct the accounting, and that is what we are asking for,” Dr Freeman said. “Senators should be voting on a method that has been tested in the open.” The INFM Method allows state governments to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by ending timber harvesting in state forests. New South Wales intends to register the area encompassing the Great Koala National Park on the mid North Coast, as the first project. A briefing note published by Forestry Australia on 31 July tested the method’s modelling and accounting framework and found it structurally biased towards over-crediting. That means the method may issue more carbon credits than the actual climate outcome can justify. “The method uses inappropriate modelling approaches and accounting timeframes to characterise harvesting impacts and forest regrowth post-harvest,” Dr Freeman said. “These choices mean the climate benefit claimed by the INFM method could be overstated by 40 to 100 per cent. For a method that might generate ACCUs worth hundreds of millions of dollars this is a material issue.” Meanwhile, a second briefing note, published last week, identified an additional problem. Credits are calculated across the whole project area, while the obligation to keep that carbon standing for 100 years applies only inside mapped carbon protection areas. Harvesting can therefore be reduced outside protection areas during the crediting years, earn credits, and return to earlier levels once the crediting stops. Requests for the underlying modelling have gone unanswered since consultation opened more than a year ago. “Forestry Australia raised our concerns more than a year ago and asked for the data and modelling that would allay them. We have asked to be proven wrong, yet still nothing has been released. Further, material changes were made after public consultation closed without the chance for independent scrutiny. ” Dr Freeman said. “The lack of transparency around the development of this method is deeply concerning. It does not meet expectations for a high integrity ACCU scheme method”. Forestry Australia also shares the concerns widely communicated by other environmental and industry stakeholders that the method does not sufficiently deal with additionality and leakage. Forestry Australia has asked for corrections to the INFM Method before any project is registered or any credit issued. Some of these requests include: Lengthen the accounting window Align forest modelling with Australia’s national greenhouse accounts, and Attach permanence obligations to every tonne credited.   A working model already exists. The 2022 Plantation Forestry Method assesses carbon outcomes over the long term, modelling carbon stocks over 100-years, not the 15 years used by the INFM Method. Importantly, financial assessments and forest management plans behind plantation method projects are reviewed and signed off by independent experts, such as Registered Forestry Professionals. “The plantation method shows what a forest carbon method looks like when it is built properly,” Dr Freeman said. “The accounting window matches the life of the forest, and a registered professional puts their name to the plan.” “Forestry Australia wants the ACCU Scheme to succeed. Its integrity depends on every credit representing a genuine, additional and conservatively measured climate benefit. That is what protects buyers and the landholders already delivering real carbon outcomes,” Dr Freeman said. “We need ACCU scheme methods that support these roles, whilst delivering genuine carbon benefits.”

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The Coalition is seeking crossbench support to disallow what it describes as Labor’s dodgy carbon credit method. Leader of The Nationals Matt Canavan said the Improved Native Forest Management method needed to be torn up, because it doesn’t contribute to Australia’s emissions-reduction objectives, and is wrong. Source: Timberbiz “Labor’s INFM method is just another way for Labor to force their net zero agenda on our forestry community, destroying lives and jobs in the process,” Senator Canavan said. “Labor is setting up a scheme to use taxpayer money to pay states to shut down productive native forestry for carbon credits that don’t represent the emissions savings being claimed. “The Coalition does not support the INFM method. That’s why The Coalition will vote to disallow the INFM method, and we call on the crossbench to do the same.” Shadow Minister for Forestry Darren Chester said the method was built around a NSW Government election promise, and it will be paid for by Australian taxpayers while delivering no genuine reduction in emissions. “I represent the Gippsland communities that have lived through the shutdown of native forestry in Victoria, and I know where this road leads,” Mr Chester said. “It leads to mills closed, skilled workers gone, and towns left to pick up the pieces. “This method doesn’t just fail on the science. At a time when Australia is facing a housing crisis, we need more Australian timber, not less. “Locking up entire forest regions for 100 years means less timber to build Australian homes, higher construction costs, and greater reliance on imports from countries with lower environmental standards. “You either use your own timber sustainably, or you use someone else’s. The Nationals will keep fighting to urge the Government to make the right choice.” Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Dan Tehan said around half of credits that New South Wales claim would likely not generate genuine climate credit. “We have long known The INFM doesn’t factor in leakage or harvested wood products, so the true extent of over-crediting could be even more,” Mr Tehan said. The Nationals’ New South Wales Senator Ross Cadell has written to all crossbench Senators, asking for their support. The disallowance motion will be listed on September 15, giving the crossbench the time needed to consider its impact. “We must stop Labor’s latest forestry failure and carbon credit scam,” Senator Cadell said. “This week, we are urging the crossbench to support our disallowance motion. With today being the National Forestry Day in Australia, it is a great opportunity for the crossbench to consider our request.” Australian Forest Products Association acting CEO Richard Hyett has warned over-crediting occurs when a project issues more ACCUs than the actual amount of carbon it has saved or removed from the atmosphere. This occurs under the INFM Method because forest regrowth occurring after timber harvesting is not factored into the carbon calculations, the method relies on new ‘no harvest’ areas being progressively added to a project throughout the 15-year crediting period, and/or the settings for harvesting are incorrect. “Forestry Australia’s careful analysis indicates that the INFM Method contains accounting and modelling choices that cumulatively act to overstate carbon benefits by 40 to 100 per cent,” Mr Hyett said. “This is important, because ACCUs are used to offset real emissions elsewhere in the country. It is critical that we maintain the integrity of the ACCU system and stop methods that do not meet the standards, so we thank the Nationals and all those that have supported the delay to critically analyse this flawed method.”  

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The move to repeal the ‘roadless rule’ would pave the way for road construction and logging in nearly 45 million acres of untouched back country.