Chequamegon, Nicolet Logging To Be Topic Of Monday Meeting In Carter

Logging in the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forests, which has been stalled for years by environmental concerns and lawsuits, will certainly be among the main topics at the second bi-annual Forestry Policy Conference slated Monday in Carter.

The event will draw lawmakers from Wisconsin and Michigan, including U.S. Representatives Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble of Wisconsin’s Seventh and Eighth Congressional Districts and Dan Benishek, who represents Michigan’s First Congressional District. It will he held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Potowatomi Carter Casino Hotel.

The focus will be on current policies impacting forestry and opportunities that will allow better utilization of forest resources across the three congressional districts represented.

The day will be broken into three panel discussions with Duffy, Ribble and Benishek serving as moderators. Sessions will focus on tribal perspectives on land and timber management; timber transportation issues; and innovative and alternative solutions in national forest management.

In addition to the three panels there will be a roundtable discussion and question and answer session with representatives from the U.S. Forest Service and a conversation about the economic importance of timber featuring Reed Hall, CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and Bill O’Neill, Michigan State forester and chief of the Forest Resource Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Moderator will be Henry Schienebeck, executive director, Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association.

Additional speakers will include Al Murray, Forest County Potowatomi forester; Tom Tisa, director, Network Strategies, CN; DJ Aderman, president, Futurewood Corporation, which is affiliated with Johnson Timber; Jake Hayrynen, forest products manager, JM Longyear, LLC; Michigan State Sen. Tom Casperson; Wisconsin State Sen. Tom Tiffany; Charlie Becker, senior resource manager, Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc.; Kathleen Atkinson, regional forester U.S. Forest Service, Milwaukee; Anthony Scardina, forest supervisor, Ottawa National Forest; and Paul Strong, forest supervisor, Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest.
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