State task force hears warnings about mill closures, urges retention and new markets

A state task force convened in Montgomery to examine an uptick in pulp and paper mill closures that members said threaten jobs, local economies and forest health.

Marcus Parmore, who helped lead the bill that created the task force, told the panel he was approached by constituents in District 89 and local officials after several nearby plants closed. "It affected thousands of people," Parmore said, describing closures in neighboring counties and saying the resolution was intended to bring stakeholders together to find ways to slow plant shutdowns and protect jobs.

Russell Johnson, speaking as a task force participant, described closures that have rippled across the Southeast and warned that a loss of mill demand harms forest management: "If we don't have the reason to manage the forest, we're going to see more beetle kills. We're going to see more fires," he said. Johnson urged a proactive, retention-first approach, saying the state should "take that same competitive attitude to engage with [corporate owners] to say if you've got to downsize, make it anywhere but Alabama."

Rick Oats of the Alabama Forestry Commission said the problem is regional and urged the task force to collect fresh industry data and press federal partners, including the U.S. Forest Service, to fund research and new-market development. "We organized a trip with the state foresters from across the Southeast to D.C.," Oats said, adding that coordinated federal engagement and research into new products and markets could create opportunities for Alabama timber.

Nick Shaver, Secretary of Commerce, described commerce's ongoing outreach to large, often out-of-state corporate owners and said that while new technologies—biofuels, cross-laminated timber and other products—offer promise, they are likely "5 to 10 years down the road." In the near term, Shaver said, the immediate priority is retaining existing facilities and maintaining markets for landowners and sawmills.

Panel members discussed state strengths that could help retention, including a low-tax structure and workforce-development efforts such as the forestry association's training programs. Participants also debated diversification options—pellets, co-generation with data centers and other uses for mill residuals—and raised trade, tariff and global-competition concerns tied to countries with lower production costs.

Several speakers cited specific figures from the meeting. Parmore said forestry contributes about "$36 billion a year" to the state's economy. One participant noted investments such as an $800 million project at a Monroeville-area facility and repeated an estimate that Alabama has roughly "10 to 13" pulp and paper facilities, though participants acknowledged counts vary depending on definitions.

Task force members agreed to schedule a follow-up meeting in which Oats or a Forestry Commission economist would present updated state industry figures, and staff pledged to compile contact lists and a written summary of today's discussion. The chair noted the panel's statutory expiration on Nov. 1 and asked members to identify what the group could accomplish in the remaining period.

The meeting closed with a plan to reconvene after the presentation; no votes or formal actions were taken during the session.