Michigan timber industry urges speedy salvage and replanting after northern ice storm

The Michigan Association of Timbermen told the House Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism that a recent severe ice storm across the northern Lower Peninsula devastated stands of red pine and hardwoods and that industry and state action is needed to salvage timber, restore seed supplies and manage biomass and fire risk.

Jim Mader, government affairs chair, and Joe Doyle of Doyle Forest Products described the scale of damage and said state and private harvesters must work quickly to remove downed timber before insect infestation and staining reduce value. “By July 4 or mid July, a lot of that pine won't be any good anymore,” Doyle said, urging rapid sales releases and replanting plans.

Speakers estimated the storm removed decades of managed growth in some plantations. Mader and Doyle emphasized that red pine plantations do not regenerate naturally at scale and require seed supply and replanting to restore productive stands. Industry witnesses requested that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources continue to expedite sale offerings and consider emergency support for seed sources and replanting programs.

Witnesses also warned that biomass processing plants, which help remove debris and reduce fire risk, are at or near capacity and that markets for pulp and biomass fuel are saturated. That constraint, they said, increases the urgency to coordinate salvage and processing to reduce downslope fire risk and long‑term economic losses.

Committee members asked for follow‑up information on impacts to old‑growth stands and hardwoods; industry witnesses said recovery timelines for hardwoods are long and that some stands may not recover to pre‑storm conditions for decades.

What happens next: Industry representatives asked the committee to maintain communication with DNR and state emergency channels and to consider funding or policy steps to support accelerated salvage, replanting and biomass processing capacity.