Timber industry urges state support after ice storm devastates red pine stands

Representatives of the Michigan Association of Timbermen told the Michigan House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Natural Resources at a committee hearing that an ice storm damaged large swaths of red pine across northern Michigan and created an urgent need for seed, replanting and market support to salvage timber and sustain mills and jobs.

"We represent over 800 logging and trucking companies throughout the state," said Jim Mader, vice president of the Michigan Association of Timbermen, describing the group’s membership and economic footprint. The association cited Michigan Department of Natural Resources figures that its sector directly employs more than 40,000 people and supports nearly 90,000 jobs statewide, generating about $12 billion annually.

The association’s witnesses — Jim Mader; Vaughn West, president of the Michigan Association of Timbermen; and Joe Doyle, past president — told legislators the storm caused heavy damage to red pine stands that do not regenerate without replanting. "It does not regenerate on its own," Mader said of red pine. The testimony said delays in securing seed and replanting capacity risk removing a generation of red pine from…