Monday edition
October 19, 2026
UNITED STATES — NATIONAL FOREST PRODUCTS WEEK
National Forest Products Week puts new uses for wood in the spotlight
National Forest Products Week runs October 18–24. Established by Congress in 1960, the observance recognizes the importance of forest products and their sustainable use. This year, the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Products Laboratory is marking the week with research that connects wood to uses ranging from packaging to multistory buildings.
Two one-hour webinars provide a practical way to take part. Tuesday, October 20, covers nanocellulose, including applications in packaging and food preservation. Thursday, October 22, covers mass timber, including the use of small-diameter trees and research on fire, moisture and termite durability. Both run from 11 a.m. to noon Eastern. Each offers one Society of American Foresters continuing education credit for live attendance.
Our forest-business take: use the week to show customers and neighbors what comes from a working forest, and follow the research for possible future outlets. The mass-timber session is particularly relevant to questions about small-diameter material. These are research and education opportunities; they are not announcements of new local buyers or purchase contracts.
Watch: October 20 and 22, 11 a.m.–noon Eastern; live attendance for SAF credit.
Forest Service National Forest Products Week program → Nanocellulose session and registration → Mass timber session and registration → Hawaii forestry calendar confirms October 18–24 dates →
Regional Field Conditions
MIDWEST — MICHIGAN / OCTOBER 18 FIRE UPDATE
Recent rain leaves a difficult ground-fire problem in the U.P.
Michigan Public’s October 18 reporting describes continuing suppression work at the three Upper Peninsula fires managed as the Rugged Terrain Complex. Its Sunday evening update says the state confirmed lightning as the cause of the Black River Fire. Crews spent the weekend using hand tools, water pumps and leaf blowers.
The report lists Ridge at 466 acres and 40% containment, Craig Lake at 606 acres and 90%, and Black River at 350 acres and 70%. These figures describe the dated update. DNR incident commander Nate Stearns said recent rainfall had not overcome months of moisture deficit. The agency described fire persisting as much as two feet into the duff beneath surface leaves and twigs.
Our field-planning take: check the current site and haul-route arrangements before dispatching a crew into the affected area. Record the responsible contact and the access instruction with the job information. Rainfall and a containment percentage answer different questions from whether a particular route or worksite can be used. Conditions can change between an evening report and the next shift.
Action Detector
NORTHEAST — NEW HAMPSHIRE / OCTOBER 22 ROUNDTABLE
New Hampshire market discussion brings several perspectives together
UNH Extension’s Forest Products Markets Update is scheduled for October 22, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., online through Zoom. Registration is required. The current listing offers 1.5 Society of American Foresters continuing forestry education credits.
The roundtable brings together experts representing a range of New Hampshire forest-products markets to discuss their observations and expectations. Co-sponsors include the state Division of Forests and Lands, New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association and the state Sustainable Forestry Initiative implementation committee. The event page contains the registration route and contact information.
Our market use: prepare two or three specific questions about the products and delivery areas that matter to your operation. Separate current receiving conditions from expectations for the coming season, and follow up directly with the relevant buyer before committing production. Comparing several perspectives can reveal where a change is widespread and where it belongs to a particular product or mill. The listing announces a discussion; any prices, forecasts or purchasing instructions need to come from the participants and their current business arrangements.
Watch: October 22, 5–6:30 p.m.; registration required for the online roundtable.
Official UNH schedule, registration and credit information →
CANADA — TRADES TRAINING / EQUIPMENT FUNDING
Training-equipment funding lowers the required cash share
Canada’s Union Training and Innovation Program equipment stream now requires a minimum 30% cash contribution toward new training equipment and materials, down from 50%. The program page, updated October 16, lists continuous intake and funding of up to C$5 million per project over a maximum of 36 months.
Eligible applicants outside Quebec include unions representing Red Seal trades, organizations managing their training trust funds, and providers delivering technical training through recognized Red Seal apprenticeship programs. The stated purpose is equipment and materials for training pre-apprentices and apprentices. An English information session is scheduled for October 29 at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time; registration instructions appear on the program page.
Our workforce take: a forest-products business with a maintenance or skilled-trades training need can begin by identifying the appropriate eligible training partner. Define the trade, learner group, equipment and instructional use before discussing a contribution. This is a training-program route with specified applicants and assessment criteria. A production-equipment purchase by an ordinary operating business does not, by itself, establish eligibility. Review the current priorities and application guidance with the training organization.
Current equipment stream, applicant types and information-session registration → October 15 apprenticeship-training announcement →
SOUTH — SOUTH CAROLINA / OCTOBER 22 PINE STRAW BIDS
Sand Hills offers a forest product measured in raking work
South Carolina Forestry Commission’s current listing accepts sealed bids for Sand Hills pine-straw sale SHSF-5381-ADV-PS-27 until October 22 at 10 a.m. The listed areas comprise 49 longleaf and mixed-pine stands in compartments 19 and 20 of Sand Hills State Forest.
The agency encourages bidders to inspect the areas to assess volume and raking conditions. Its listing specifies full payment within twenty calendar days of bid opening and a US$500 performance bond before raking begins. Obtain the current bid form, maps and specifications through the solicitation page and clarify any differences between the summary and packet with the agency.
Our business take: estimate recoverable straw alongside labour, access, handling and a dependable customer outlet. The economics depend on how much acceptable material can be gathered and sold within the operating terms. Walk the stands, understand how the crew will work them and connect the payment commitment to the expected collection and sales schedule. Pine straw provides another way to earn from a working forest, with its own product standards and operating requirements. Keep those assumptions separate from a standing-timber bid.
Watch: October 22 at 10 a.m.; current bid form, stand inspection and specifications.
WEST — WASHINGTON / AMETHYST CONTRACT AMENDMENT
Amethyst amendment changes the skidder operating calculation
Washington DNR’s Amethyst timber-sale packet includes an October 15 amendment updating contract clause H-140. It sets the restriction on six-wheeled skidders equipped with tracks from October 1 through June 30. The updated clause matters to the equipment and season assumed in a bid.
The October 29 auction begins at 10 a.m. at the Pacific Cascade Region Office in Castle Rock. The Skamania County lump-sum offering lists approximately 207 acres and 5,829 thousand board feet, predominantly Douglas-fir, with a US$1,677,000 minimum bid. The contract expiration is October 31, 2029. Ground-based yarding also requires dry soil conditions. Read the amendment together with the complete contract and sale maps.
Our estimating take: rebuild the operating calendar using the latest equipment restrictions before assigning production to particular months. Check the permitted machine, access work, hauling and receiving arrangements as one system. An older notice elsewhere in a packet can leave a different seasonal assumption in an estimate. Keep the amendment date and controlling clause with the bid worksheet, then confirm any uncertainty with the administering DNR office before submission.
Amethyst packet, October 15 amendment and contract H-140 → Current Washington DNR auction packets and updates →
Under the Radar
UNDER THE RADAR — BIOMASS RESEARCH / OCTOBER 9 REPORT
Better sample preparation sharpens the picture inside wood
An October 9 Forest Products Laboratory article describes an improved method for analysing plant cell walls with two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance. The work combines controlled drying, fine ball milling and a modified solvent system to obtain clearer, more reproducible information about wood’s chemical structure.
Researchers report detecting lignin units, their connections and polysaccharide structures together across hardwoods, softwoods and grasses. Earlier approaches could require harsh treatments or suffer from uneven preparation and poor spectral resolution. The agency links both a science brief and the underlying 2026 publication, explaining how the changes improve whole-cell-wall analysis.
Our product-development take: consistent feedstock characterization helps a research team compare materials and investigate conversion into fuels, chemicals or other products. A business considering a laboratory collaboration can ask how samples are collected, prepared and compared, and what the analytical result will decide. The reported advance is a research method. Moving from a better chemical description to a commercial product still requires process testing, specifications and an economic case. This feature reviews the October 9 report rather than presenting a new mill installation.
Forest Service research explanation, science brief and original publication →
UNDER THE RADAR — WOOD TECHNOLOGY / EXISTING REFERENCE
The Wood Handbook gives a moisture question somewhere to start
The Forest Products Laboratory provides its revised 2021 Wood Handbook as a free complete download or individual chapters. It remains an existing technical reference; the current website is a route to that edition. Topics range from wood properties and commercial products to drying, preservation and construction.
For moisture questions, Chapter 4 covers moisture relations and physical properties, while Chapter 13 addresses drying, moisture-content control and dimensional change. The handbook’s organization lets a reader select the relevant subject and follow references for greater detail. Separate chapters cover mechanical properties and grading, helping distinguish a general material property from a product’s specified design use.
Our practical use: when a customer reports movement, checking or an unexpected fit, document the species, product, moisture readings and conditions before searching for an explanation. Use the reference to frame the question and identify what needs measuring. Keep the actual product specification and qualified technical advice attached to a design or acceptance decision. The value of a dependable reference is a clearer investigation and a better conversation between supplier, user and specialist.
FPL handbook overview and chapter directory → Complete revised 2021 publication → Chapter 13 download and publication record →
BOOKS & APPS
Wet Woods
Wet Woods follows loggers, foresters and mill operators adapting to wetter, less predictable conditions in the Northeast. It focuses on the practical decisions people are making as climate and operating conditions change.
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