Page 30 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Fourth Quarter 2023

COMMUNICATIONS CORNER
Another potential cause for this misconception are the outputs of the industry. Now, talking to people on either side of this issue, you’re going to get so many different explanations for what the outputs of the industry are and how dangerous they are. I’ve heard people say lots of things about this and it is hard to know who to believe. My thoughts on the issue:
• Forestry companies are going to try and make their operations as safe as possible for those working on site and those around them.
• Forestry companies don’t want to destroy the environment with chemicals in the water, soil, or air,
and also don’t want to cut down all
the trees without a plan for regeneration. Both of these things would harm the vital resource they depend on and could produce either a bad product
or no product at all. Destroying the land will destroy their business.
I learned most of this valuable information from foresters themselves. It wouldn’t have been something I learned in school and certainly wouldn’t have been something I learned at home.
“It’s incredible the respect that foresters have for the resource that they work with and you can see it any time they get the chance to talk about what they do.”
4|Forestry is a dying industry.
As long as we keep building houses and furniture and need things like toilet
paper and pencils, there will always be
a need for wood. There will always be a forestry industry as long as we continue to use wood for various purposes. Where else would it come from? The perception that forestry is dying is tied to the fact that fewer and fewer young people are interested in joining the industry. There’s not enough education around forestry; certainly not as much as there is for other sciences, especially when it comes to K-12 education. I didn’t learn about anything related to forestry or forest management until I got to the NCFA. The gap between
the established forestry community in North Carolina and young people who want to get outside needs to be bridged in order to maintain and grow North Carolina’s robust industry.
My favorite thing about the industry
is learning something new every time I
get to talk with one of our members. It’s incredible the respect that foresters have
for the resource that they work with and you can see it any time they get the chance to talk about what they do. My message
to our members: Go out, talk to people, advocate and educate for forestry in your community. Let’s remember that we are all stewards of these resources, we love our land, and appreciate our way of life. Each of us can do our part to conserve our natural resources while adapting and evolving.
Gov. Cooper Proclaims
FOREST PRODUCTS WEEK
For the second year in a row, the NCFA has received a North Carolina Forest Products Week proclamation from Gov. Roy Cooper’s office. This is a testament
to the hard work of those in our industry, which contributes $35.5 billion to our state’s economy. We are #1 in manufacturing sectors in the state, supporting more than 139,700 jobs and generating $184 million in state taxes, plus $434.4 million
in federal taxes annually.
28 ncforestry.org / FOURTH QUARTER 2023