• Fiber supply is a very complex issue, but simply stated – no logs, no mills, no jobs.
• For the Forest Products Industry, a reliable fiber supply is essential to keeping approximately 1.3 million people employed in what are considered family-wage jobs. In addition, it is estimated that each of these jobs impact six other jobs such as salespeople, truck drivers, teachers, etc.
• Wood fiber provides over 5,000 different products consumers use every day. The average American uses over 690 pounds of paper products annually.
• While the demand for paper products continues to rise, our mills continue to close. In fact, wood offered for sale from our national forests has been reduced by over 75% in the past decade, contributing to the closure of more than 300 mills in our nation.
• Fiber supply to support our mills comes from varied sources such as:
• Chips and sawdust from sawmills
• Recycled paper
• Logs salvaged from fire-damaged forests
• Logs not suitable for lumber
• Harvest of forest thinnings from private and public forestlands
• Forests in the United States are gaining more volume each year than is being harvested. However, the volume made available to industry has dwindled alarmingly in the last ten years. This has caused the price of fiber to skyrocket. The rapidly escalating cost of fiber supply has been a major factor in the dramatic rise of production costs within the industry.
• Forest Products companies are one the most energy efficient of all basic industries, using wood waste to furnish the major percentage of their energy needs. A major portion of the paper industry's energy use is self-generated from the bark, chipped wood waste and materials used in the pulping process.

• The PPRC supports incentives to encourage private landowners to actively manage their forests as an important source of sustainable wood for the industry, and to enhance habitat for diverse wildlife populations.
• The PPRC supports incentives to keep American fiber in America, thus protecting jobs and keeping mills more cost-effective and competitive in the global marketplace.
• The PPPRC supports the active sustainable management of National Forests. This is a reliable fiber supply source, will increase forest health, help prevent wildfires, increase healthy habitat for wildlife and rebuild forestlands impacted by fire, insects and disease.
• The PPRC supports long-term partnerships with the Forest Service to promote harvest of forest thinnings and removal of biomass, and thus ensure a sustainable supply of fiber and fuel for our mills. These partnerships are a win/win situation for the taxpayer – the forest products industry will help pay for the cost of removing the fuel load and this will keep our forests healthier for the future.
• The PPRC supports legislation such as the Healthy Forest Restoration Act to make salvage and thinning sales less vulnerable to lawsuits and administrative appeals. Court delays put salvage sales and healthy forest habitat at risk and cost the taxpayers money.
• The PPRC requests that Congress pass the legislation needed to help protect an industry that creates products we all need and use every day; while at the same time protecting the jobs that support well over a million American families.

The PPRC is a grassroots organization representing the interests of the nation's pulp, paper, solid wood products, and other natural resource-based workers. The U.S. forest products industry is vitally important to our nation's economy, employing 1.5 million people. We rank among the top 10 manufactures in 46 states with annual sales exceeding $230 billion, which accounts for 7% of the U.S. manufacturing shipments. We are people dedicated to conserving the environment while taking into account the economic stability of the workforce and surrounding community.

Position Paper Page

Rev. 02-08-08