Cradle of Forestry in America: 2010 Woodland Steward Series
September 8, 2010 — The Woodland Steward Series is a unique educational opportunity that you cannot afford to miss. It is designed to equip landowners just like you with the tools and resources you need to manage your land and to enrich your experience as a woodland owner. Read more…
After 20 years of protection, owl is declining but forests remain
September 6, 2010 — Twenty years after northern spotted owls were protected under the Endangered Species Act, their numbers continue to decline, and scientists aren't certain whether the birds will survive even though logging was banned on much of the old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest where they live in order to save them. Read more…
McDowell Lumber Builds Pallet Manufacturing Business on Rayco Nailing Machines: Recent Improvements Include Brewco Gangsaw Line and Copper Scragg Mill
September 1, 2010 — McDowell Lumber started in the 1974 by Tony McDowell as a hardwood mill, producing lumber for the grade market. He started by cutting trees and running a portable sawmill in the woods. Tony doesn’t just own the company; he is actively involved in day to day management activities. Read more…
Housing poses threat to private forests
August 12, 2010 — Housing development on privately owned forest land needs to be added to the list of threats to the nation's forests, according to a U.S. Forest Service report issued Wednesday. Read more…
Loggers try to find business after IP
August 4, 2010 — More than nine months after International Paper Co. announced the Franklin paper mill would be closed, logging companies are trying to maintain their businesses by taking wood elsewhere. Read more…
Land-of-Sky Regional Council: 11 forest businesses get $1.2M in stimulus
July 21, 2010 — ASHEVILLE — The federal government will spend $1.2 million in stimulus money on forest products businesses in Western North Carolina, a regional development group recently announced. The Land-of-Sky Regional Council said 11 businesses will get part of $956,164 from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to support operations including sawmills, small-scale logging and furniture building. The agency, which works as a planning council for governments in Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties, previously gave three businesses $250,000 in the first round of stimulus funding. The council is administering the spending for the U.S. Forest Service's Southern Research Station. It will get $250,000 to manage the project. “We have some of the most productive forests in the country and it is important that we use that asset wisely to support the economies of our rural communities,” said council Chairwoman Letta Jean Taylor. “These stimulus projects give us an opportunity to use our renewable forest resources to bring back many of the jobs lost in the economic downturn.” A group that supports the timber industry said that any expansion of the forest products market is generally good but cautioned against subsidizing businesses to make them work. Steve Henson, director of the Southern Appalachian Multiple Use Council, said there is an increasing demand for hardwood lumber but not enough access for timber companies. “If the (U.S. Forest Service) is sincere in their efforts to help stimulate the forest products industry in WNC, they should be offering more timber sales on their million acres of land here in the mountains,” he said. Julie Mayfield, executive director of WNC Alliance, a group that has advocated for forest conservation in the region, said it's hard to tell what impact the projects might have on the environment. “We support local industry, including the local forest products industry as long as that industry sustainably manages its sources of timber,” she said. “Our concerns arise when the industry begins to threaten old growth, biodiversity and our streams. If these projects are small scale enough that they won't do that, then we support them and the continuation of an industry with a rich history here in the region.” (2 of 2) Here's a look at some of the projects: Read more…
Weyerhaeuser Declares Record $5.6 Billion Dividend
July 16, 2010 — Weyerhaeuser Co., the second-largest owner of U.S. timberland, declared a record $5.6 billion special dividend to lock in the company’s conversion this year to a real estate investment trust. The shares rose the most in 15 months. Read more…
Insect poses threat to trees
July 7, 2010 — It's prime time for the emergence of an extremely invasive insect that could be deadly to the Commonwealth's wood industry. State officials are hoping a lure, in the form of a purple box, will help to eradicate the imported beetle before it destroys the species of tree that is most popular in regional manufacturing. Read more…
Controlled fires might help dogwood trees
June 8, 2010 — Forestry experts say planned burning in some Eastern U.S. forests might be helpful in restoring flowering dogwood tree populations. Read more…