Keith Olson

“We have given you a Republic.  It remains to be seen if you will be able to retain it.”  My apologies to Ben Franklin, for this clumsy parallel… but his quote is was comes to mind as I ponder the fact that Montana is fortunate to have a diversified and integrated forest products infrastructure.  Whether or not we can retain it, is a question that will likely be answered by the time the current economic recession in this country ends.

“Diversified and integrated” means we have producers that convert low value residues such as logging debris and mill residues into products such as fiberboard and linerboard… and other producers that convert low value logs into products such as post and poles… and other producers that convert high value logs into products such as decorative beams and log homes… and yet other producers that convert logs into traditional products such as lumber and plywood… and, very importantly, we have accredited loggers that are schooled in the implementation of forest stewardship to ensure that all products—irrespective of their value—are harvested in a responsible and sustainable fashion.

So back to the clumsy parallel: we have an efficient forest products industry in Montana, yet it remains to be seen if we are smart enough to recognize the importance of keeping it.  There should be no doubt.  Our forests are largely a mess and we should all be equally committed to restoring their health.  After all, the forests of Montana are not just a place where we work or recreate… the forests of Montana are where we live: they provide the water we drink, the air we breathe, the fish and wildlife that is our heritage, and so many other multiple benefits.

Alas, we are not currently very good stewards of our surroundings.  A Sunday afternoon drive in just about any forested portion of Montana will reveal that insects and disease are having their way with nearly every species of tree in our forests.  The principles of forest stewardship would suggest that we need to get ahead of this endemic.  Rather, we seem to be fixated on the futile mission of “chasing the bugs;” all the while, our forests become even more susceptible to the inevitable consequence of wildfire.  We could do so much better and, in the process, enhance the quality of our forests as well as our quality of life.

As mentioned above, the dead and dying trees in our forests are a marketable commodity in so many ways… yet, we are all too slowly taking advantage of another important potential they possess: the conversion of woody biomass to energy.  

Such a worthwhile industry will not even require much in the way of new technology, as many forest product manufacturing facilities already capture some energy from their operations to heat building or run their kilns… and some facilities generate power that can be marketed on an electrical grid.  But that is just a fraction of our potential…

If tax benefits were to apply to contributions the forest products industry already makes to energy production—and if tax incentives for woody biomass were equal to the tax incentives for other so-called “green” forms of energy—we could be significantly contributing to our nations ever-growing need for new “clean energy” sources; and, at the same time, eliminating our industry’s consumption of energy from less “green and clean and renewable” sources.

If we were starting from scratch, this would be a major undertaking; but we have the resources, the infrastructure, the markets and the personnel in place.  Yet, today, all are in peril.  “We have given you an industry.  It remains to be seen if you will be able to retain it.”