Ellen Engstedt-Simpson - November 19, 2007
Montana Wood Products Association
Thanksgiving and Then Some
“THANKSGIVING AND THEN SOME”
There is always much to be thankful for but sometimes it is easy to ignore the simple aspects of life when so many issues are swirling about us. We in the timber community are struggling with low lumber prices caused mostly by a slump in the housing market along with increased imports from other countries. The picture is a bit scary and will remain so for the next several months.
With that said, there are still over 9,000 Montana families employed thanks to timber harvesting and manufacturing. The timber community in spite of what our detractors say is a strong contributor to Montana’s robust economy and will continue to be. While there are those who yammer about Montana no longer being in the business of natural resource development, they are simply wrong. Montana’s economy is booming right now because of oil and gas, mining, agriculture, and timber, just as it has in the past. It does puzzle me as to why some individuals find it so difficult to embrace the industries that keep our economic engines running and constantly attempt to figure out ways to kill the goose that is laying the golden eggs.
Keeping this in mind, a check in the amount of $48.6 million was presented to the Superintendent of Public Instruction at today’s meeting of the Board of Land Commissioners. This is revenue generated from activities on Montana’s 5 million acres of trust lands. These dollars are the cornerstone of Montana’s school funding and come directly from timber harvesting and forest improvement, oil and gas and other mineral leases, commercial development, easements, cabin site leases, agricultural and grazing leases, and recreational use. These are all time honored uses of Montana’s state lands and are a clear indicator that the wise use of public land can and should be part of our culture as it has been for over a hundred years.
A second check was given to the Superintendent for nearly $900,000 that is over and above the other contribution. This one is the gravy for the schools in the form of what we call the “timber technology account”. These funds come from the amount of dollars produced from the sale of timber over 18 million board feet annually and is used solely for school technology needs, such as computers and network access. The amounts vary from year to year depending on how much timber is sold and harvested, but each school district in Montana benefits with some amount from this account.
Examples of school districts reaping extra dollars from timber harvests this fiscal year are Townsend K-12, $4,200; Missoula K-12 $59,000; and, Helena K-12 $46,000. These are dollars over and above the monies appropriated by the Legislature for the base school funding. These are also dollars not levied on local taxpayers and that too is a good thing.
The citizens of the State of Montana should be proud of the fact that those in charge of sustainable forestry for our trust lands moved quickly after the horrific fires of 2007 to help restore those lands to health. The staff of the DNRC was out on the ground while the fires were dying down to determine what could be done this harvest season to help Mother Nature recover our forest lands. Several salvage sales will be underway over the next few months to remove burned trees with restoration work to follow such as replanting and grass seeding.
These prompt salvage activities on state trust lands ensure forest health, contain invasive weeds, and provide value of products removed with revenue going into the trust account to benefit Montana’s school children. It is an admirable effort and we in the timber community are thankful for the quick action of the State because it is the right thing to do for the trust and for the resource.
From the families of the members of the Montana Wood Products Association based in Helena, our best wishes to each of you for a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving. I am Ellen Engstedt-Simpson and thanks for listening.
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