Timber leaders tell appropriations panel ice storm wiped red pine stands; ask state help with replanting, biomass markets and limits on solar projects

Representatives of the Michigan Association of Timbermen told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Natural Resources that a recent ice storm damaged large swaths of red pine across state and private lands and that the industry needs state help to salvage, replant and manage the resulting debris.

At a committee hearing, Jim Mader, Government Affairs Chairman for the Michigan Association of Timbermen, said the association represents logging, trucking, sawmill and manufacturing businesses statewide and cited state figures showing the sector directly employs about 40,000 people, supports roughly 90,000 more and generates about $12 billion annually. He told lawmakers the immediate priority is salvaging red pine before insect and bacterial stain reduce its value and securing an adequate seed base to replant long‑rotation stands.

Mader said red pine plantations do not regenerate on their own and typically require replanting and multiple decades of management: "your first…