Page 8 - Flathead Beacon // 10.29.14

8 | OCTOBER 29, 2014 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM Debate Rages Over Forest Log Supply
Just
Sayin’...
“Let there be no misunderstanding, we will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaking just hours after a lone gunman stormed Parliament Hill in Ottawa last week, killing a Canadian soldier.
“This is a historic day. This proclamation by the Confederacy shows clearly that this is not just an important issue for the Blackfeet, but for Indian Country.”
Blackfeet Tribal Historian John Murray on the signing of a proclamation asking to end energy development in the Badger-Two Medicine area.
“We are having a serious issue with log supply and it’s become a big challenge.”
Paul McKenzie, lands and resource manager for F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber, on the state of the timber industry in Montana.
Company officials lament available timber as Forest Service hits regional harvest goal
By DILLON TABISH of the Beacon
A dark cloud overshadowed this year’s public tour of the valley’s forest products industry, as logging officials and forest managers expressed frustration over the lack of access to timber.
Recent litigation and court orders have cast a pall of gloom over the industry, cracking open old divisions as sawmills reduce production.
Last week’s Timber Tour, an annual event hosted by the valley’s chambers of commerce and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, was intended to showcase the industry and its role in managing forests, but the event concluded on a dim note.
“We are having a serious issue with log supply and it’s become a big challenge,” said Paul McKenzie, lands and resource manager for F.H. Stoltze Land and Lum- ber.
In the last month, two large timber sales — a 36,700-acre project in the Still- water State Forest and a 37-000-acre proj- ect in the Flathead National Forest near Lindbergh Lake — were halted in U.S. Dis- trict Court. A group of environmental or- ganizations challenged the proposed log- ging projects, arguing the agencies failed to adequately study or respond to the needs of sensitive wildlife, including griz- zly bears, lynx and bull trout.
Sonya Germann, forest management bureau chief for the DNRC, which was in- volved in the Stillwater project, said U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy’s decision was a surprise and “has profoundly affect- ed our program” moving forward.
“The Stillwater Forest is in the heart of timber country and it’s really impor- tant for the infrastructure around here,” she said.
“It’s incredibly frustrating. It really af- fects the income that we’re able to bring in for the trust beneficiaries. And something that I hope you’re all realizing here today,
Participants of a timber tour, hosted by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, listen to James Stupak, owner of Wild Montana Wood, speak at his facility west of Kalispell. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
it affects individual lives, too.”
Around the same time the timber
sales were halted, Stoltze and Plum Creek both announced reductions in production hours, citing a lack of available log supply. Stoltze also laid off 10 employees.
Speaking to a crowd of over 50 people who attended the Timber Tour, McKenzie said the situation needs to be addressed otherwise Montana’s sawmills will con- tinue to shrink and maybe even disappear, leaving the state without a tool to manage its forests.
“IT’S INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING. IT REALLY AFFECTS THE INCOME THAT WE’RE ABLE TO BRING IN FOR THE TRUST BENEFICIARIES. AND SOMETHING THAT I HOPE YOU’RE ALL REALIZING HERE TODAY, IT AFFECTS INDIVIDUAL LIVES, TOO.” Sonya German, Forest Management Bureau Chief
e
“Once this all goes away, we’re never coming back, folks,” McKenzie said.
Others refute claims that logging com- panies are struggling to find available tim- ber.
Mike Garrity, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, a region- al group that commonly opposes timber sales over environmental concerns, point- ed out a recent announcement by the U.S. Forest Service that it had met its timber harvest goal for fiscal year 2014 in Region One, which encompasses Montana, North Dakota, Northern Idaho and Northwest- ern South Dakota.
Last week Faye Krueger, regional for- ester for the USFS, said roughly 280 mil- lion board feet of timber were harvested from Oct. 1, 2013 through Sept. 30, 2014. It was the first time the region had met its target in over 14 years, according to the agency.
“They’re making stuff up,” Garrity said of timber companies complaining about supply shortages. “We haven’t shut down the forests. These people just want to get rid of all environmental law so they can clear-cut everything. Until they can do that, they won’t be happy.”
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