Bemidji lumber mill loses major certification amid sex harassment claims

By Larissa Donovan
KAXE – KBXE Headwaters News
November 19, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

BEMIDJI, Minnesota — A workplace culture allegedly permitting sexual harassment may have cost PotlatchDeltic Land and Lumber, a major employer in the Bemidji region, its third-party responsible forestry certification for all its mills. Two lawsuits from current and former Bemidji PotlatchDeltic employees claim operator Calvin Kurtz sexually harassed them and other female employees, both while at work and outside the workplace. Filed Nov. 14, the complaints allege Kurtz commenced a pattern of sexually harassing conduct toward women employees under his supervision. In answers to the complaints, Kurtz denies any and all allegations of wrongdoing. …Two women are individually suing PotlatchDeltic and Kurtz, seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus legal fees. …PotlatchDeltic’s Bemidji plant creates precision studs with spruce, pine and fir. PotlatchDeltic Land and Lumber’s Forest Stewardship Council certification was terminated as of Nov. 1, in response to claims of workplace harassment at the Bemidji mill and elsewhere.

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