logging

For many communities across the Northwest, logging used to be a major if not the primary driver of the local economy.  However, a lot has changed over the past 40 years, but that doesn’t mean the timber industry doesn’t have an important roll to play in natural resource management.   That’s where...

A U.S. District Court has stopped a logging project in northern Idaho that environmental groups claim could harm the Selkirk grizzly population habitat.  Estimates say roughly 50 grizzlies live in that portion of Idaho.  Mike Garrity head of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, a Montana-based conservation organization, which has been in litigation with the Forest Service over this issue for nearly

On Tuesday, Idaho senator Jim Risch and Maine senator Angus King introduced the Future Logging Careers Act, in an effort to support America’s family-run timber industry.  This legislation would allow teenage members of logging families to gain hands-on experience in the trade so they may carry on the family business. The Future Logging Caree...

The looming closure of the mill will have large ripple effect.

On Tuesday, the USDA announced it is providing up to $200 million to provide relief to timber businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Department, harvesting and timber hauling businesses that have experienced losses due to COVID-19 are eligible for the Pandemic Assistance for Producers Initiative ...

Today we start our seven part series taking a look at Northwest Farm Credit Services’ Quarterly Commodity Snapshots. And we start with forestry products and sugar beets. NWFCS Vice President Bill Perry said their 12 month outlook for the forest products industry expects profitable timberland operations and very profitable processing operations. “ ...

Backers of rejected ballot measures proposed by environmentalists have filed a lawsuit, saying Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno broke with legal precedent and based her rejection on bad advice.  The lawsuit filed Monday in Marion County Circuit Court, asked a judge to overturn the rejection and award attorneys’ fees.   T...

Backers of rejected ballot measures proposed by environmentalists have filed a lawsuit, saying Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno broke with legal precedent and based her rejection on bad advice.  The lawsuit filed Monday in Marion County Circuit Court, asked a judge to overturn the rejection and award attorneys’ fees.   The b...

The intersection of where farming and politics intersect may have been best displayed in the most recent presidential election.  Bruce Vincent is a farmer, logger, rancher and advocate from Libby, MT.  He said starting in 2008, the national economy has struggled, and while it hurt main street America hard, he adds it was the rural areas that suffered the most, not just now, but over the past coupl

As the demand for building materials in China and Asia continues to grow, Washington is working to meet the need.  Last year, the Evergreen state shipped nearly 245 million board feet of logs to China alone.  Other popular destinations for Washington timber includes Japan and  Korea.  But before t...