American Loggers Council Annual Meeting 2021 Highlights

Held in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, loggers from around the country gathered for the American Loggers Council (ALC)’s annual meeting October 7-9, 2021. The weekend provided a full slate of activities for those looking to expand their knowledge and network with others. Friday and Saturday night festivities also provided a chance for everyone to let loose. Look for full coverage of the meeting in the November/December issue of Timber Harvesting magazine.

Tour Of Bob Danielson Logging Operation

Always a highlight for ALC members, the annual meeting logging tour visited Bob Danielson Logging’s operation near Clarkia, Idaho. The crew was working an Idaho state timber sale scheduled to produce 6.6MMBF once finished. The state of the art cable logging job featured tethered felling and skidding systems and motorized grapple carriage from Summit Attachments & Machinery.

ALC Opening Speaker Pete Stewart, CEO of Forest2Market

ALC annual meeting opening speaker Pete Stewart, CEO of Forest2Market, says there’s more capital than he’s ever seen currently flowing into the forest products industry—mostly to the Southern U.S. In the next few years, look for increased log and pine pulpwood in the South, flat demand in the Northwest and slight demand decline in the Midwest, he added.

Also, Stewart said, be very wary of any efforts to develop carbon credit legislation and its potential negative impacts to the forest products industry.

Biden Commends U.S. Loggers

During the seminar session, ALC executive Vice President Scott Dane delivered a letter from U.S. President Joe Biden commending loggers’ role in forest health issues and rural economic growth.

According to Biden, “the ALC plays a critical role in not only strengthening our Nation’s resilience to climate change but also rebuilding our economy and supporting hardworking families across America.”

The letter closed with Biden saying he’s looking forward to working with ALC in the future.

Dane urged those in attendance to put aside political differences and concentrate on the significance of such a message.

“To get this now, here, showing we are on the radar of the highest office in the land, is remarkable,” Dane said.

The letter reflects the efforts of the ALC over years and its recently raised profile working with the White House on the logger relief program and other initiatives, several officials at the meeting noted.