Montanans appreciate our locally grown food, from vegetables to huckleberries, raw honey and grass-fed beef. Can we say the same about our wood products? By supporting the forest industry in Montana, you are ensuring that wood products are coming from forests managed with some of the most stringent environmental laws in the world. The Missoula Chapter of the Society of American Foresters (SAF) supports investment in our local forest products industry.
Montana’s identity is rooted in our forests. Sustaining the capacity for active forest management is crucial and everyone should be invested in the fate of our forest industry because we are all public forest landowners. The condition of our forests and associated natural resources are directly tied to the health of our forest products industry. Management can be expensive, and without a functioning forest products supply chain to offset costs, treatment may not be feasible.
Sawmills and byproduct processing facilities are critical infrastructure. The recent closure announcement of Pyramid Mountain Lumber in Seeley Lake will have severe impacts on the Wildland Urban Interface. Pyramid was one of the last mills in the state with the ability to process ponderosa pine logs, a species that is abundant around our homes and communities.
Roseburg Forest Products also announced the closure of their particleboard plant in Missoula. Ten to twenty percent of a sawmill’s revenue may come from selling byproducts to residual processors, like Roseburg. Without a local purchaser for sawdust, planer shavings and coarse wood chips, the economic viability of the entire regional wood products supply chain is in jeopardy.
The ripple effect of losing these two facilities may take years to play out, but we know the long-term effects of a collapsed wood products industry — the inability to do cost-effective forest management. Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming have lost their forest products industry and Montana could be headed down that path as well.
The benefits of forest restoration work on wildfire risk can be seen locally at the Pattee Canyon Recreation Area in Missoula. Nearly 30 tons per acre of woody biomass were removed during the Pattee/Blue Ecosystem Restoration Timber Sale in 2005-2006. One green ton of woody biomass has a combustible energy equivalent to 57 gallons of diesel fuel. By actively reducing fuels in our forests, projects like Pattee/Blue and others reduce the intensity and duration of wildfires, which in turn reduces the likelihood of hazardous air quality conditions.
Montana has many initiatives in place that promote active management of our forests. Wildfire mitigation may be at the point of the spear, but there are many other issues facing our forests today. Without a vibrant forest products industry and markets within a reasonable proximity to project areas, forest management would decline as would the condition of our forests. An investment in Montana’s forest products industry is critical now more than ever, but we urge the people of Montana who rely on the forest for their lifestyle to realize that investment is not limited to a monetary value.
The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is the national scientific and educational organization representing over 9,000 forestry and related natural resources professionals across the United States. Founded in 1900 by Gifford Pinchot, SAF promotes science-based, sustainable management and stewardship of the nation’s public and private forests. A 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, SAF members include professionals in public and private settings, researchers, CEOs, administrators, educators and students.
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