A new report by a conservation nonprofit is warning that Wisconsin’s declining forest products industry could damage forest health. The report, “Wisconsin Forests at Risk: Engaging Wisconsinites in Another Century of Forest Conservation,” highlights the numerous threats the state’s woodlands are facing, from declining loggers and mills to changing weather patterns and invasive species. According to Ron Eckstein, chair of public lands and forestry for Wisconsin’s Green Fire and a contributor to the report, the industry that includes loggers and paper mills helps maintain a healthy forest because they prune trees to enable the overall canopy to thrive. …The forest products industry has been struggling in recent years. Wisconsin remains the top paper-producing state in the country, but jobs in the industry have declined by 73 percent since 2001 to nearly 7,000 employees in 2024, according to the Wisconsin Council on Forestry.