Page 11 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Second Quarter 2020

1. Dr. Carl Schenck and the final graduating class of the Biltmore Forest School at Sunburst, NC – 1913. 2. Reuben Robertson (left) and Dr. Carl
A. Schenck (right) planting Norway spruce at Lake Logan to memorialize the 1951 reunion of the Biltmore Forest School. 3. Evergreen Packaging procurement team. 4. Dr. Carl A. Schenck tree monument.
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nearby, such as DuPont State Forest
or Grandfather Mountain State Park,” Elliot said. “There are also opportunities to work for the federal government
on the Nantahala or Pisgah National Forests or the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Additionally, there is
a growing demand for professional forestry consultants in the area, and there is a strong wood products industry in the region, which supports many procurement forester positions.”
Because of the paper mill’s longstanding operation, the town of Canton hosts the longest-running annual Labor Day parade in the United States, which has now grown into a three-day festival. The Canton Mill
has always played a big role in the life
of the community. From building and sponsoring the local YMCA and library, to providing a food bank during the Great Depression and now supporting the United Way and Log-A-Load for Kids. The mill even blows the old steam whistle for the kickoff of every home football game for the Pisgah High School Bears. Evergreen Packaging continues to sponsor ongoing restoration efforts for the Pigeon River and is a proud member of the Haywood Waterways Association.
Promoting Sustainable Practices for the Future
As a continuation of Dr. Schenck and Reuben Robertson’s legacy of promoting sustainable forestry practices, Evergreen is currently engaged in collaborations supporting a forest plan revision on
one million acres of the Nantahala- Pisgah National Forest that surround
the Canton Mill. Evergreen serves on
the Organizing Committee for the Stakeholders Forum for the Nantahala- Pisgah Plan Revision and helps represent the forest products industry alongside other NCFA members.
“Today, we are working with other stakeholders in the community to build on the legacy of forest sustainability and encourage active forest management that
rail logistics are always challenging. Two other hurdles we are facing at the Canton Mill today are the declining supply of sawmill residual chips related to the current market downturn for hardwood lumber, and the conversion from forest use to non-forest use around the growing cities in the region.”
Evergreen Packaging is an active member company in the NCFA and
“We see our role as providing a healthy market that promotes sustainable logging practices and enables the needed silviculture and forest restoration treatments across the national forest.”
improves forest health and other forest ecosystem services,” said Elliot. “We see our role as providing a healthy market that promotes sustainable logging practices and enables the needed silviculture and forest restoration treatments across the national forest.”
He also described some of the unique challenges that face the Canton Mill today.
“Evergreen Packaging has invested heavily in water and air quality controls to exceed Boiler MACT and all other state and federal environmental standards, to ensure the mill’s operation for another 100 years,” Elliot said. “Being surrounded by more than one million acres of mountainous, federally owned forestland where timber harvests are limited, much of the wood fiber that the Canton Mill utilizes is harvested from further away in the foothills and upper piedmont regions of North Carolina
and surrounding states. So, truck and
Elliot currently serves on the NCFA’s Executive Committee as the Western Region Vice President.
“One of the most beneficial aspects of membership in the NCFA is the ability to support the association’s legislative advocacy, so that our appointed
and elected officials understand
the importance of our industry as a sustainable economic driver in North Carolina that provides jobs and
markets to promote healthy forests,”
he said. “Supporting the NCFA’s public education initiatives that help the public understand forestry and the importance of the forest products industry in our state is another important benefit. Networking and communications are the other essential resources that the NCFA provides for its members. Networking with other forestry professionals to better understand the issues facing our industry is always very helpful.”
ncforestry.org / SECOND QUARTER 2020 9