Sustainable Forestry & Wood Products

Despite challenges in recent decades, forestry and wood product manufacturing remain vital elements of the Northern Forest economy. The Center believes that innovative approaches to forest ownership, management, logging and manufacturing are needed to sustain and create jobs in this key segment of the region’s economy.

Through its subsidiary, Sustainable Forest Futures, The Center is supporting information sharing, financing and network strategies intended to drive innovation, enhance economic competitiveness and create and sustain well paying jobs in wood product manufacturing and logging. Link to the Sustainable Forest Futures website.

Across the region, SFF and The Center are working with partners to:

  • Advance Community Forest projects;
  • Assist wood product companies to implement innovations to increase their competitiveness;
  • Increase the number of loggers in the region using Cut-to-Length harvesting technology to create better paying jobs, reduce fuel use and generate ecological benefits.

Community Forests

Community Forests provide a unique model for local forest ownership that generates economic, environmental and social benefits for the host community. As part of the Community Forest Collaborative—with the Trust for Public Land, the Quebec-Labrador Foundation and SFF—The Center is promoting this new model and supporting communities to create new Community Forests. Read more about Community Forests.

Regional Wood Products Consortium

The Regional Wood Products Consortium is a collaboration among Sustainable Forest Futures (SFF) and the wood products manufacturing industry in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and northern New York. The Consortium assists the wood product manufacturing industry in the region to pursue innovation opportunities and improve access to markets with the goal of enhancing economic competitiveness. Read more about the Regional Wood Products Consortium and its acclaimed workshop series for small- and medium-sized manufacturers.

Cut-to-Length Harvesting

The Cut-to-Length (CTL) Harvesting Initiative, a partnership involving SFF, the Lyme Timber Company and Coastal Enterprises, Inc, was launched in November 2007 to encourage and facilitate the use of this advanced harvesting technology. The use of CTL has environmental benefits, and it also has the potential to provide economic benefits to landowners, loggers and the broader forest economy. Read more about Cut-to-Length.

Forest Financing

SFF, through a partnership with Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), facilitates use of the federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program as an important subsidized financing tool for working forestland projects. To be eligible for SFF's New Markets Tax Credit initiative, projects must promote economic development, have community benefits, and provide for working forestland conservation. Read more about New Markets Tax Credits.