Page 10 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Fourth Quarter 2024

Day 2
The meeting continued on Thursday with
an energetic presentation given by Niki
Paganelli of Haywood County Schools,
who got everyone moving and connecting!
Paganelli, a 2023 Sustainable Forestry
Teachers Experience participant, empha-
sized the importance of environmental
education at an early age, and the need to
take instruction outside whenever possi-
ble to nurture growing minds.
Next came a panel focused on the
political landscape in NC. Moderated by
Joe Stewart of Independent Insurance
Agents of NC, the discussion focused on our
state’s demography and voting trends over the
years. Contributing to the panel discussion
were experts Dr. Michael Bitzer of Catawba
College, Dr. Nathan Dollar of the Carolina
Demography Center at UNC-Chapel Hill,
and Tim Boyum of Spectrum News 1.
The program ended with a look to the
future — Makayla Warren of Evergreen
CLT educated us about the growing use of
cross-laminated timber in the residential
and commercial spaces, focusing on the
sustainability benefits of this innovative
Educator Niki Paganelli presents at the
2024 NCFA Annual Meeting.
The AGL Group’s Stephen Zambo
illustrates freight and logistics trends and how
they may impact the forest products industry.
Legislative Update
A 2024 ROUNDUP
State Issues
The North Carolina General Assembly
completed most of its legislative work for
the year on June 28, 2024 after reaching
an impasse on a budget adjustments
bill for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. In the
final hours of session, the NC House and
Senate unveiled and passed a conference
committee report to Senate Bill 355 -
North Carolina Farm Act of 2024. The Act
contains several provisions of interest to
the NCFA, which include:
• Establishing a prescribed-burning cost
share program.
• Reinstating the conservation tax credit,
which if enacted would allow qualified
donors to receive a tax credit of up to
25% of the fair market value (up to
$500,000) of the donated property. The
8 ncforestry.org / FOURTH QUARTER 2024
final version of the bill caps the total
aggregate amount of all credits allowed
in a taxable year to $5 million, $3.25
million of which will be allocated to
forestland or farm conservation.
Governor Cooper signed the North
Carolina Farm Act of 2024 into law on
July 3, 2024.
Federal Issues
While 2024 was uneventful for legislative
issues at the state level, it proved to
be full of excitement at the national
level and beyond. On February 7, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator signed a new rule for
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM
NAAQS). Manufacturers across the U.S.
raised significant concerns with the rule
product and how it can shape the future
of our industry. The NCFA offered golf,
riverboat, and local activities for guests to
explore the Wilmington area before the
evening reception, followed by dinner and
an awards banquet that evening.
Our annual meeting is the result of a
year’s worth of strategic planning, and see-
ing our team’s ideas and hard work come to
fruition was remarkable to experience. We
hope you all had a fantastic time, and we
look forward to seeing you next year!
Spectrum News 1’s Tim Boyum weighs in on
what he is observing in NC’s political climate.
throughout the process, citing that:
• It would not result in any appreciable
gains to public health goals.
• It will stifle investments in the
manufacturing sector.
• It will make it harder for new invest-
ments to comply with the standard.
Several members of the regulated
community, including the forest products
industry, formed a coalition to challenge
the EPA’s final rule for PM NAAQS. As of
early October, a date for oral arguments
has not been scheduled.
International Issues
Moving abroad, the European Union
Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) was
set to take effect December 30, 2024.
While intended to curb deforestation
and forest degradation worldwide, EUDR
requires geolocation data for all forest
products (sawdust, chips, lumber, pellets,
etc.), making compliance difficult, if not
impossible. While the forest products
industry moved expeditiously to develop