September 20, 2026

CANADA — BRITISH COLUMBIA

Conifex lands up to C$30 million as it works toward a Mackenzie restart

Conifex Timber has secured a Government of Canada Large Enterprise Tariff Loan of up to C$30 million. The seven-year facility carries a market-based interest rate and is secured by substantially all of the company's property. Conifex says the liquidity is intended to support operations while it works toward normalized two-shift production at its Mackenzie sawmill.

The financing reaches beyond the federal facility. Conifex's existing lumber lender has also agreed to reimburse up to C$11 million of capital expenditures aimed at improving operating performance and EBITDA at Mackenzie. That puts financing behind both the restart and the mill's cost structure rather than simply bridging a shutdown.

Watch: Conifex says the financing gives it confidence to plan a restart and bring employees back, but it has not announced a firm restart date.

Conifex announcement →

WEST — MONTANA

Flathead clears 3,726 acres of commercial treatment east of Hungry Horse

Flathead National Forest has issued final approval for the 7,409-acre Dry Riverside Project on the east side of Hungry Horse Reservoir. The plan includes 3,726 acres of commercial treatments, 2,370 acres of prescribed burning and 1,313 acres of other noncommercial work, with 17 miles of road construction or use associated with access.

The commercial acreage is the operating signal: this is a multi-year treatment pipeline rather than a one-off fuels project. The final decision follows a revised biological opinion issued September 4 under the forest's broader planning litigation.

Watch: Work is expected to begin this fall; commercial treatments are expected to continue for about five years.

Dry Riverside project report →

SOUTH — MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi agreement puts forest-product markets and GNA work inside a broader federal-state framework

Mississippi has signed an updated Shared Stewardship agreement with the Forest Service, NRCS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with the Mississippi Forestry Commission as the lead state agency. The agreement explicitly includes forest-product market development, Good Neighbor Authority projects, prescribed fire, invasive-species control, wildfire work and coordinated planning across ownership boundaries.

For the operating side of forestry, the useful language is the commitment to align federal investments with state priorities and address market barriers as well as forest health. That creates a framework through which future GNA timber and treatment work can be coordinated with private-land and market needs instead of being treated as isolated federal projects.

Mississippi governor's office →