National Forests Get More Money for Timber Sales
By John Myers, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.
Feb. 5–Minnesota loggers should be able to cut more trees in the state’s two national forests over the next year or so thanks to an extra budget infusion from the federal government.
The combined forest management budgets for the Chippewa and Superior national forests were bumped from less than $10 million to $11.8 million for fiscal 2008.
The $2 million will pay for more staff members so more logging sales can be conducted, said Jim Sanders, supervisor of the Superior National Forest.
The extra money for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service was announced recently by U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.
Sanders said his forest’s share of the money will increase the total amount of trees offered for sale in fiscal 2008 from about 52 million board feet to about 60 million board feet, a15 percent increase. The extra trees will be offered at timber sales later this year, Sanders said.
That compares to about 56 million board feet sold last year. Volume sold on the forest has ranged between 101 million board feet sold in 1991 to 44 million sold in 2003.
Environmental review and planning for the sales already has been conducted, but a lack of staff funding limits the actual number of sales each year, Sanders said.
“These are sales which already were in the pipeline but which we can now do faster,” Sanders said.
Coleman and timber industry officials praised the sales, which will help increase timber supply.
The supply of wood available to Minnesota loggers has generally decreased in recent years while prices have increased, adding to other issues faced by the wood products industry, such as foreign competition and sagging demand for some products.
—–
To see more of the Duluth News-Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.DuluthSuperior.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.