The Landing: where data and forests meet.

I don't know about you, but the end of 2020 has seemed to drag on. Maybe I can blame it on my increased news consumption this year and working mostly from home every day during the last nine months. The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly impacted the forest products industry.

Mills and other forest product industries have closed or reduced operations considerably, leaving thousands out of work. Another year of devastating wildfires in western North America has impacted the health of forests and the communities that rely on them.

Despite the many challenges, several promising trends emerged from 2020. An increase interest in tree planting through the Trillion Trees Initiative has put trees and forest in the focus of international discussions. More recognition of the use of wood as a building material has gained more momentum. As a result, there has been more attention to mass timber buildings and technologies like cross laminated timber. While the forestry industry will continue to have challenges in 2021, I'm optimistic we'll tackle them head-on.

Wishing you the best in the new year.

Matt Russell