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Betsy Bates

Year Of Unexpected Events Brought Some Pleasant Surprises

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No one was expecting such a year when it began on Jan. 1, 2020, and much happened that caught everyone off guard, but there were a few positive surprises amid the wild ride, which F&W President Marshall Thomas discusses in the new edition of his company’s newsletter.

“Housing starts hit 1.547 million units (annualized) in November, 12.8 percent above the same month in 2019,” Thomas writes in the first F&W Forestry Report of the new year.  While that is great news, he notes that “the better news is that 1.186 million (annualized) of those starts were single-family units.  That is the highest level of single-family starts since April 2007.”

Thomas notes that pellet production was not impacted by the pandemic, and exports of the product continue to increase. 

Thomas also outlines a few items of interest to look for in 2021, including the new Biden administration’s actions on environmental policies, tax policies, and positions on China trade.

Betsy Bates

Forests Included As Natural Solution To One Of New Administration’s Top Priorities

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When Joe Biden takes office in January, one of his top priorities will be climate change, which is likely to have a huge impact on forest policies.

On day one, Mr. Biden said he would take steps to have the U.S. rejoin the Paris Climate Accord.  He also plans to invest in green infrastructure, buildings, transportation, and renewable energy in order to put the U.S. on track to have net-zero emissions by 2050.  Forests are likely to play a critical role in climate mitigation strategies because of the ability of trees to capture and store carbon. 

The Biden Administration is also expected to revisit rules and regulations implemented under Trump, including Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS), the Endangered Species Act, and the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, all of which could impact forest landowners.

Betsy Bates

Report Shows Trade Of Wood Pellets With EU Is Positive For U.S. Forests

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A new international study examining 12 years of data on Southeastern timberlands found that the wood pellet industry has had a net positive effect on American forests.

Since the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive went into effect 11 years ago, demand for wood pellets from the U.S. has skyrocketed, with more than a third of the 18 million tons of wood pellets traded in the EU coming from the U.S.

The rapid rise in wood pellet manufacturing drew concern that it would have a negative impact on forests, but the study finds the opposite to be true.  Among other trends, the study found there was a net expansion in the amount of carbon stored in trees in the Southeastern United States.