Howard Hedstrom, president of Hedstrom Lumber Company in Grand Marais, has been named president of the Federal Resource Coalition. The group is made up of members who manufacture wood products, paper, and renewable energy. They have an office in Washington, D.C. and have hired Bill Imbergamo to serve as executive director. Imbergamo will work with legislators and try to improve the performance of the Federal timber sales program.
About one year ago Howard Hedstrom and James Bibler were talking about the sad state of the timber industry.
The picture was grim. Nationwide, sawmills were closing. Loggers were out of work, and federal forests were seemingly managed more for fire than cutting.
“I told James that if I were 10 years younger I would start a political organization and try to educate politicians about the state of the industry and its importance to the economy,” said Hedstrom, president of Hedstrom Lumber Company in Grand Marais.
To which Bibler, of Bibler Brothers Lumber, Russellville, Arkansas, replied, “Let’s do it, Howard.”
And with that they were off and running. The first meeting was held in Phoenix, Arizona in February. “We didn’t know how many people would show up, but we got a good response and 30 people attended,” said Hedstrom.
In early April a second meeting was held in Portland, Oregon, followed by a third meeting in May, in Denver. At each successive meeting more people from throughout the country came and interest grew. Eventually, the group elected Hedstrom to serve as their president.
“We formed a committee and passed bylaws in May. After conducting a nationwide search for an executive director in July, Bill Imbergamo was picked for the position. He started September 1 and has an office in Washington, D.C.,” said Hedstrom.
The grassroots group calls itself the Federal Forest Resource Coalition. As the Coalition’s director, Imbergamo will work to improve the performance of the federal timber sales program.
“He [Imbergamo] gives us a strong voice for a conservationoriented timber sales program in Washington D.C. For too long, we’ve watched the Forest Service and federal lands operations adopt a passive approach to management which threatens our mills and the health of their forests,” said Hedstrom.
Imbergamo brings more than 20 years of Washington experience to the coalition, most
About one year ago Howard Hedstrom and James Bibler were talking about the sad state of the timber industry.
The picture was grim. Nationwide, sawmills were closing. Loggers were out of work, and federal forests were seemingly managed more for fire than cutting.
“I told James that if I were 10 years younger I would start a political organization and try to educate politicians about the state of the industry and its importance to the economy,” said Hedstrom, president of Hedstrom Lumber Company in Grand Marais.
To which Bibler, of Bibler Brothers Lumber, Russellville, Arkansas, replied, “Let’s do it, Howard.”
And with that they were off and running. The first meeting was held in Phoenix, Arizona in February. “We didn’t know how many people would show up, but we got a good response and 30 people attended,” said Hedstrom.
In early April a second meeting was held in Portland, Oregon, followed by a third meeting in May, in Denver. At each successive meeting more people from throughout the country came and interest grew. Eventually, the group elected Hedstrom to serve as their president.
“We formed a committee and passed bylaws in May. After conducting a nationwide search for an executive director in July, Bill Imbergamo was picked for the position. He started September 1 and has an office in Washington, D.C.,” said Hedstrom.
The grassroots group calls itself the Federal Forest Resource Coalition. As the Coalition’s director, Imbergamo will work to improve the performance of the federal timber sales program.
“He [Imbergamo] gives us a strong voice for a conservationoriented timber sales program in Washington D.C. For too long, we’ve watched the Forest Service and federal lands operations adopt a passive approach to management which threatens our mills and the health of their forests,” said Hedstrom.
Imbergamo brings more than 20 years of Washington experience to the coalition, most Howard Hedstrom recently serving as senior professional staff to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. He has also served in senior positions with the forest products industry and with state forestry agencies as well. He is a ten-year member of the Society of American Foresters, a five-year bronze sponsor of Ducks Unlimited, and was appointed to the Virginia Board of Forestry in December 2010.
“He will be our eyes and ears, our boots on the ground. He will focus on budgets and policy and new rules concerning the federal timber industry and he will get back to us so we can work with our individual legislators,” said Hedstrom.
Tom Partin, president of the American Forest Resource Council in Portland, Oregon, will serve as the coalition’s vice president. “Many of our members are struggling to stay afloat. In spite of this, we feel it’s critical to organize at the national level to fight for the active management of our forests, and our rural communities,” said Partin.
One area that has benefited in its partnership with the Forest Service is the Gulf Coast.
“The federal Forest Service helped grow the sawmilling business along the Gulf Coast. By managing to meet the needs of our mills and the needs of our wildlife, the National Forests of the Southeast are among the nation’s ecological treasures,” said Fred Stimpson, CEO of Scotch Gulf Lumber in Mobile, Alabama. “We’re determined to sustain these forests and the livelihoods of our families. We need a national voice in Washington to accomplish this,” said Stimpson, who will serve as the coalition’s secretary and treasurer.
The FFRC is made up of small and large companies and regional trade associations whose members manufacture wood products, paper, and renewable energy from federal timber resources. With members in two dozen states, the coalition is actively seeking new members to help build a national voice to advocate for sound management of federal forests. Coalition members employ over 350,000 workers in 650 mills, with payroll in excess of $19 billion.
Hedstrom said he was heartened by the industry-wide response to forming the coalition. “So far we have a half-million dollar budget and the response has been tremendous. This has been one of the worst economic times ever for the wood industry. Fifteen years ago, 12 billion board feet were cut. Last year three billion board feet were cut. Part of that has to do with less need, but we aren’t harvesting even half of what the forest service has allocated. We hope to increase the output 20 percent a year. We’re hoping to reinvigorate the industry and the forests,” said Hedstrom.
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