The Maine TREE Foundation and USM’s Environmental Science and Policy Program hosted a program on forestry resources in Maine last Thursday. The event was organized by Sherry Hubert and Samantha Langely-Turnbaugh and took place in the Woodbury Campus Center at 7:00p.m. About 50 people attended to hear a panel of speakers discuss the future of forestry in Maine. The panel included Patrick McGowen, Lloyd Irland, David Field and David Edson. Matt Hancock of Hancock Lumber was also supposed to speak, but could not due to an illness.
Irland, the lead speaker in the conference, is an adjunct professor at Yale University and the owner of the consulting firm Irland Group. Irland presented a brief outline of his paper, “The Evergreen Empire: Maine’s Forest Resources and Industries in a New Century”. The paper was written for the recent Blaine House Conference on Maine’s Natural Resource-Based Industry, which took place on Nov. 17.
The goal of the Blaine House Conference was to examine Maine’s natural resource-based economy and discuss ways to stabilize and sustain it. Irland discussed the struggle of the forestry-based industries in Maine, stressing that foreign imports pose a threat to Maine’s lumber niche. He explained that the U.S. is importing more high-grade printing and writing paper than ever, as well as softwood and coniferous sawn wood, of which Maine has historically been a primary producer for the U.S. Irland stressed the importance of restructuring the forestry industry, which is shrinking nationwide.
“[This shrinking] is not a business cycle…. The machines and jobs are gone,” Irland said.
Irland also spoke about the lumber trading policy with Canada, recommending a change that would encourage stability and realism above all. “In the area of policy, perfect can be the enemy of good.” said Irland, reminding the audience that wishful thinking can lead to ineffective policy. He concluded his portion of the presentation with a quote from author Robert P. Tristram Coffin: “The fertility of Maine’s forest is one of the most amazing miracles of our time. It has stood up under two hundred years of constant short-sightedness.”
Irland was introduced by Patrick McGowen, the Commissioner for the Department of Conservation. McGowen was representing Governor Baldacci, who had initially planned to attend the event. McGowen introduced the other panel members briefly, saying “There is well over a century of experience and advocacy for Maine’s forest in this room tonight.” His comments focused largely on the importance of helping small foresters to become certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. McGowen said that this process would help in the restructuring process of Maine’s forestry industry, creating a niche for a high-quality green certified product. Before turning the podium over to Irland, McGowen also spoke of the declining number of people in the business and the governor’s plan to offer long-term financial assistance to loggers in an attempt to bring industrial stability and environmental sustainability in the industry.
David Field, chair of the Forest Management Department at UMO, followed Irland’s presentation with supporting statistics. He explained the difficulty of Maine’s trade policy with Canada, noting that every time we attempt to restrict the import of Canadian lumber, we end up cutting off a primary supply of something important to another part of our industry. Field also said that most of Maine’s forest land is owned by non-industrial, private owners, contrary to the common belief that the land is controlled primarily by large logging companies.
David Edson, executive vice president of the James W. Sewall Company, concluded the presentation by discussing the way development affects the forest. Edson has been involved in forestry since 1974, when the government was trying to regulate the forest and promote growth. He said that while the building of roads encouraged development immensely, the distance between towns still seriously damaged the attempts at development.
Melissa St. Germain can be contacted at [email protected]