Region Archives: US East

A logger in Vermont recently summed up the industry’s mood to our organization in a single sentence: “I would not encourage my son to get into logging.” That sentiment is becoming increasingly common in the state as diesel costs soar, mills close and operating expenses continue to climb. In late September, diesel fuel surged past $6.50 a gallon nationally, with prices in the Northeast averaging higher in many areas. That increase represents roughly a $3-per-gallon hike compared with January. Multiply that $3 increase by the thousands of gallons of diesel used every month by most logging and forest trucking companies, and it becomes clear why rising diesel costs are unsustainable for an industry that … cannot pass those costs on to consumers. Wood prices are not set by loggers, but by those they work for or sell wood to. …Loggers need relief from high diesel prices soon, because too many in this vital but overlooked industry are running on fumes.

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A new study released by the University of Minnesota Bureau of Business and Economic Research showed the economic impact of wildfires that spread across parts of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in July. For nearly two weeks in mid-July, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) closed the BWCAW to all visitors after multiple wildfires broke out across the region. Many people’s vacation plans came to an abrupt halt as Forest Service crews scrambled to evacuate paddlers still in the wilderness. …In the end, lightning-caused wildfires consumed roughly 70,000 acres of the 1.1-million-acre wilderness. This caused significant economic impact on small communities such as Ely, Tofte, and Grand Marais, all of which are gateways to the BWCAW. The BWCAW is one of America’s most visited wilderness areas in the country. …The BWCAW is a fire-dependent landscape… However, these wildfires occurred during peak visitor season, affecting the shops, resorts, restaurants, outfitters, and other tourism-based businesses.

Reforestation is widely promoted as a scalable nature-based climate solution, but a new analysis of the southeastern United States suggests that the machinery currently paying for tree planting cannot deliver it at anything close to the scale that national and international targets demand. Researchers at North Carolina State University, working with colleagues at the USDA Forest Service and elsewhere, examined federal and state cost-share programs across ten southeastern states and found that these long-standing incentive mechanisms support roughly 350,000 acres of tree planting per year, about 141,700 hectares, at a government cost of $131 per acre for state programs and $165 per acre for federal programs. That capacity is enough to make a real dent in modest pledges such as the U.S. chapter’s 2.8 million-acre commitment under the 1t.org initiative, but it would take centuries to reach more ambitious goals like the 330 million-acre restoration target outlined in the World Resources Institute’s CarbonShot Report by 2040…

©GA Forestry Commission

Georgia, the “number-one forestry state in the nation,” according to its forestry commission, leads the nation in the permanent loss of forested land. A new study from Clark University in Massachusetts examining permanent forest loss nationwide found that the United States lost nearly 10 million acres of forest between 1990 and 2017. Georgia accounts for more than 10% of that loss, losing nearly 1.2 million acres of its forests in that period—a number that is “really off the charts,” said Christopher Williams, co-author at Clark University. It equates to cutting down one football field of forest every 16 minutes. As of 2023, Georgia had more than 24 million acres of forests, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission—still the most of any U.S. state. The majority are privately-owned timberlands, where the trees are planted, harvested, and replanted for their wood. But if the trajectory of loss continues, will Georgia be able to sustain its reputation as the nation’s leading forestry state?

HERMON, Maine — Two correctional facility employees are being recognized for helping incarcerated residents learn the ropes of Maine’s logging industry. Vocational program specialist Scott DeMoranville and correctional trade instructor Alvin Wasson, both of Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston, received the 2026 Certified Logging Professional Logger of the Year award in the supervisor/contractor category. The pair was honored Thursday, Oct. 22, during the fourth annual Forest Awards Night in Hermon. The award recognizes logging professionals for their commitment to workplace safety, professionalism, and sustainable forest management. DeMoranville and Wasson were also recognized for helping incarcerated residents build job skills and gain hands-on experience through the facility’s professional logging program. The program teaches residents conventional logging techniques while providing timber harvesting services to landowners across Maine.
 

©Texas A&M Facebook

When a wildfire ignites in Texas, the first people on the scene are most likely from one of the state’s hundreds of volunteer fire departments, most of which have less than adequate resources to contain the flames. Officials with the Texas A&M Forest Service say they are aware of this disparity and are attempting to address it with new funding through its Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program, specifically for firefighting equipment, training and other emergency needs. The program’s most recent $20 million award is its first round of funding for the 2027 fiscal year. “Demand for assistance through the program routinely exceeds available funding as volunteer fire departments work to maintain and replace vehicles, protective gear and other essential resources,” the Service said in a press release on Friday. “To address longstanding funding needs, the 89th Texas Legislature appropriated $192 million in one-time additional funding to support outstanding requests.”

Maura Healey

BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey today activated the Massachusetts National Guard to assist state and local firefighters responding to a wildfire that began in New York and has now crossed the border into Williamstown. The National Guard will use aircraft to drop water on fires in remote, rocky areas that are hard for firefighters to reach. In addition to the National Guard, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Department of Fire Services and Department of Conservation and Recreation have been monitoring the spread of the fire and offering assistance. The blaze is currently covering 157 acres. “Our top priority is keeping people safe and giving our firefighters every resource possible to contain this wildfire,” said Governor Healey. “…I’m grateful to the firefighters, first responders and National Guard members who are working around the clock to protect our communities. We will continue to do everything we can to keep residents safe.”

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Concord, New Hampshire — Many forest researchers and advocates hail Bartlett Experimental Forest as an invaluable resource for long-term research that informs forest maintenance. That includes Anton Bekkerman, associate dean of research and director of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire. When he heard the announcement in late March about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service reorganization — putting over 50 research facilities, including Bartlett, under review for closure — he said it was “worrying.” He supports many people within UNH who use Bartlett for their research. …While there is still no definite decision on the fate of Bartlett, recent conversations, court actions and funding have given hope to stakeholders that the experimental forest may be kept off the chopping block.

The Wyoming State Forestry Division has awarded $3.5 million in support of 22 projects as part of the 2026 Forest Health Grant Program. In Crook County, the NE Wyoming Forest Health & Wildfire Reduction Initiative, Crook County Natural Resource District, was awarded $300,000. The program was introduced with the passage of House Bill 78 during the Wyoming Legislature’s 2026 budget session. WSFD quickly mobilized to create and advertise the program, form an interagency project review committee and notify applicants of their funding status by mid-June to ensure that projects that will benefit Wyoming’s forests are on the ground as soon as possible.  Qualifying projects are those that improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk, improve water quality and yield and enhance wildlife and livestock habitat. The committee reviewed 31 applications for more than $12.26 million.

The Alabama Forestry Commission says Hurricane Isaias damaged more than 2.5 million tons of timber valued at $33.5 million. That’s after preliminary aerial surveys of damage last week, focusing on the hardest-hit areas, which included Conecuh, Escambia and Monroe counties. A more extensive survey will eventually be carried out. Isaias made landfall near Destin, Fla. on Oct. 9, with maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour. By 1 a.m. the next morning, the center of the storm was about 55 miles south-southwest of Montgomery, and winds had decreased to 65 miles per hour. According to the survey, Isaias cut a swath of damage about 36 miles long and up to seven miles wide. In all, the impacted area included 154,783 acres, including 64,795 acres of forestland and about 40,805 acres classified as woody wetlands. Alabama State Forester Rick Oates said the damage “was not as extensive as it could have been.” However, the results were still devastating.

Ellery Jones

This week, October 18-24, is National Forest Products Week. It is a nationally designated week to recognize the forest products industry and its contributions to our nation and great state. As an industry, we provide valuable jobs in rural communities, boost local economies and provide sustainable products that build our homes and communities. Forest products are renewable, sustainable and vital to the strength of our rural economies, supporting jobs in manufacturing, forestry and logging. According to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce and the Mississippi Forestry Association, more than 84,000 jobs are supported by forestry and forest-related industries, employing 5.18 percent of our state’s workforce. Each year, our industry generates $4.42 billion in income for Mississippi families. As an organization made up of these dedicated individuals, we are proud to support and advocate for the forest products industry. 

In the wake of July’s lightning-caused wildfires, advocates for fire safety are working with officials on a solution that might seem unexpected: more fire. Fire is a natural part of the boreal forest ecosystem, playing an essential role in its health and regeneration. These forests are adapted to fire, and some species depend on it to regenerate. “Fire has been very diverse on this landscape and has been present through a combination of lightning strikes and also intentional ignitions by indigenous people who have lived here for hundreds and thousands of years,” Abby Andrus of Dovetail Partners told WTIP. Dovetail Partners is a nonprofit organization that provides information on the environmental impacts and trade-offs of land management decisions. Part of its work in Minnesota’s Arrowhead region focuses on wildfire resilience and fire ecology. WTIP spoke with representatives of Dovetail Partners about how communities and individuals can better prepare for wildfire season. 

Alabama’s forests help support livelihoods for loggers, truck drivers, mill workers and landowners across the state. Alabama Woods to Goods Week, set for Oct. 18–24, will recognize those workers and the industry’s role in the communities they call home. Gov. Kay Ivey has proclaimed the observance for the sixth year, coinciding with National Forest Products Week. According to the Alabama Forestry Association, forestry and forest products generate approximately $37.5 billion in total economic output for Alabama and support 123,692 jobs through the economic activity they create. The association describes forest products as the state’s second-largest manufacturing industry. With forests covering more than two-thirds of Alabama, the industry’s reach begins with the land itself. It continues through logging operations, trucks carrying timber and mills turning that timber into products. Woods to Goods Week gives students, public officials and other participants opportunities to learn more about that work. 

Richard Guldin

A four-decade career spent rebuilding the nation’s forest census and building the science-policy bridges around it has earned Richard Guldin ’76 MFS, ’79 PhD the Yale School of the Environment 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award. By the mid-1990s, the numbers didn’t add up. Forest inventories collected state by state and region by region across the U.S. relied on different statistical designs, producing figures that couldn’t be reliably compared, and undermining the credibility of the data policymakers and investors depended on. Guldin decided to fix it. As newly appointed director of quantitative sciences for the USDA Forest Service’s Research and Development branch in 1996, Guldin took charge of the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, the nation’s continuous forest census. He spent the next two decades leading its transformation from a periodic, inconsistent survey into an annualized system with new statistical procedures, performance metrics, and reporting standards. 

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The Trump Administration is considering opening more than 180,000 acres of protected West Virginia national forests to logging and construction, a change that could affect wilderness areas in the state enjoyed by millions of people each year. The Monongahela National Forest is one of three national forests in West Virginia whose roadless areas could be opened up for more cars, logging and road development as the administration considers repealing a Clinton-era rule. …“It would make a huge difference in the availability of wild, natural, relaxing areas that we have that are so valuable to us in West Virginia,” said Dave Johnston, coordinator of the Dolly Sods Stewards Program. …The Monongahela was almost completely clear-cut and burned by the early 1900s, along with much of West Virginia. Johnston says the forest is still recovering. Under the proposal, decisions regarding road building and timbering would fall to local forest managers and the plans that guide the forest. 

In related news:

• WHQR News 91.3 Wilmington: U.S. Forest Service’s roadless rule repeal threatens North Carolina’s old-growth trees
• The Coalition To Protect America’s National Parks: 208 Organizations and Businesses Urge USDA to Preserve the Road 
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia has 63,000 acres of roadless forest left. USDA wants to change that.

In this months newsletter, you’ll find these stories and more:

• Planning for EXPO 2027 continues as SFPA leadership gathers in Savannah, Georgia, November 10-12 for the SFPA Board of Directors Meeting and EXPO 2027 Preview Meeting. The visit gives board members and the EXPO Advisory Committee an opportunity to evaluate key venues and logistics firsthand. “Savannah checked all the boxes for EXPO,” said Eric Gee, SFPA Executive Director. “The newly expanded convention center can now accommodate an event of our size.”
• SFPA helped bring woodworking to life at Build Live as part of the Think Wood exhibit, where live demonstrations and hands-on craftsmanship attracted steady crowds throughout the event.
• When building with Southern Pine lumber, span tables are an essential resource for determining how far joists, rafters, and beams can safely span between supports. Access design guidance, downloadable resources, and span tables and understand how span tables apply to common framing applications.