NEWS

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recently reviewed forest bills that are intended to expedite effective forest management practices. The committee chair stated that "past mismanagement ... has ushered in an era of fuels and wildfires" and that "reduced harvesting has led to historic buildups of vegetation [and] fuel loads." Click below to see a complete list of the bills under review by the committee.

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Experts are forecasting a 37% increase in the consumption of primary processed wood products—including sawn wood, veneer, plywood, fiberboard and particleboard, and wood pulp—by 2050.

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Twelve members of Congress have urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to drop additional restrictions made to conservation plans, stating that "bat species being targeted by these restrictions are not harmed by sustainable forest management" and that healthy forest management helps mitigate the harm caused by disease. The lawmakers asked USFWS to avoid taking action that hurts local economies, an "unintended consequence" of the restrictions.

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Six U.S. importers were found to be "involved in a scheme to transship wooden cabinets from China through Malaysia to avoid the payment of antidumping and countervailing duties" by U.S. Customs. Customs began investigating after the American Kitchen Cabinets Alliance filed a complaint last October.

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Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association announced that American Woodmark, MasterBrand Cabinets, and Cabinetworks Group—three of the largest cabinet manufacturers in the U.S.—have left the association after KCMA’s board of directors rejected their ultimatum to drop its litigation against Vietnam and Malaysia for circumvention of antidumping and countervailing duties.