NEWS

The infrastructure bill rated a win for U.S. forests. The REPLANT Act will permanently remove the 1980s era cap on the USFS Reforestation Trust Fund to close a 4 million-acre backlog on U.S. national forests.

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Forest products trade and industry associations in Africa, China, Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia signed the "Global Forests Need Global Governance: Tropical Timber Accord." The objective of the accord is to maintain forests, manage them for future prosperity and future generations, and stop illegal deforestation. Indonesia, however, says that it is unfair to ask the developing country to halt deforestation by 2050.

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Prior to COP26 in Glasgow, 128 environmental groups delivered a letter to the White House, asking that the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management stop the logging of older forests and trees on public land. "Mature and old-growth forests on public land are our ecological anchors – they store the most carbon and are the most resistant to the worsening impacts of climate change," said Lauren Anderson at Oregon Wild.

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A U.S. federal appeals court has issued a stay, stopping the Biden administration's attempts to require COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly tests for workers at U.S. companies with at least 100 employees, effective January 4. The court cited "grave statutory and constitutional" problems with the rule. The decision comes after numerous Republican-led states filed legal challenges to the new mandate.

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Decorative Hardwoods Association (formerly HPVA) eNews Volume XIV, Issue XXI: Homebuilders Ask Congress To Remove Tariffs On Lumber & Metals | European Companies Request Suspension Of Duties On Russian Birch Plywood | China's Plummeting Construction Starts Similar To 2015 Downturn | Is China Quitting The Economic Race?