Ellen Simpson - July 27, 2009
Montana Wood Products Association
Protect Healthy Forests
There are so many pressing issues facing our state and country presently it is nearly beyond comprehension. The timber community has been feeling the negative economic pressure for more than two years because we were in the unfortunate role of being at the head of the housing slump and therefore at the beginning of the recession bubble.
While new housing starts have been stalled for a number of months thus heavily impacting the timber and construction industries, numbers in the last couple of weeks have caused a slight reason for optimism. Existing home sales have improved each month for the last three months so that is positive sign not only for the economy overall but definitely for those involved in this type of business.
However, the reason I raise the issue of housing is broader than simply sales and building. There has been so much racket in the last few weeks and months about the lack of need for cutting trees and manufacturing the fiber into products to be used by consumers due to the slump, the noise needs to be addressed. Comments made in both news stories and in various blogs that continue to yammer about the operations of various wood products facilities are made by those who have no accurate knowledge of either the industry or the markets.
There is no doubt the lumber and other wood product markets are in serious straits. This is also the case with any other supplier of materials related to the construction industry. If a house is not being built using 2x4’s and other wood products, there is also no need for roofing, siding, carpets, appliances, paint, and all other materials used for that construction. I have not heard comments made that we as a country should discontinue our manufacture of every commodity used in our daily lives because, at the moment, prices are down. Timber harvesting and wood products manufacturing should not be abandoned due to the current downtick because as history has proven, times change.
Sadly, while the markets are working to adjust and folks are attempting to maintain their lives while mills are curtailing, the minority naysayers of timber harvesting are continuing their negative campaign against Montana workers. Another sad note while the rhetoric drips is that the forests continue to deteriorate turning red, dead, and black. For those of us who are sickened by the condition of our once beautiful, green forests the destruction of this renewable resource is an unconscionable waste.
Examples of the destruction abound throughout Montana with some of the most striking surrounding Helena. A drive up and down MacDonald Pass shows dead trees as far as the eye can see in every direction. The forest on both sides of the road is dead as well as the entire forest around Elliston including the areas that the Forest Service had tried repeatedly to harvest for the benefit of both the trees and the critters all to no avail because of relentless appeals and lawsuits.
Combine the appeals and lawsuits with the lack of fortitude of public officials and you get the look of Mount Helena City Park. The trees have been dying on the mountain for the past several years with little preventative action taken. Even now that there are large patches of red dead trees that need to be removed, two members of the Helena City Commission voted last week to wait for more information instead of adopting the sensible staff proposal presented to them for action. It is simply mind boggling and Helena residents should be outraged.
If the goal of the serial litigators in Montana has been over the past dozen years to trash our federal public lands, they can sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Our federal lands are decimated with many areas probably beyond redemption. However, there are still those of us who care about our lives and our lands and we must collectively stand up to the few individuals who have caused such wreckage. We must get busy to repair the damage committed by the actions of the few and a good place to start is with elected public officials ranging from Congress to city commissions.
On behalf of the Montana Wood Products Association based in Helena, I am Ellen Simpson. Thanks for listening.
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