Bruce Vincent

LIBBY, Mont. — The timber industry was a mainstay of western Montana’s economy for decades. But that economic force entered a sharp decline. Divisions between the industry and critics were especially rampant in the 1980’s and 90’s. But one of Montana’s most prominent logging activists is on a journey of collaboration. NBC Montana met Bruce Vincent in his hometown of Libby. …Bruce would become a hero to many in the logging industry. But for critics he was a lightning rod. He remembers what they called ‘the Timber Wars.’ …For a long time Bruce said he was in the fight. But he got tired of it. …Bruce said he was raised to be a steward of the forest. It’s that message that he has worked all these years to share. “We did a good job at fighting,” he said. “But we sucked at leading. We needed to learn how to lead this discussion on what we think forest sustainability could look like.”