North American Sustainable Forestry Business Plan

What is the Opportunity?

Decades of ill-conceived forest treatment, inconsistent wood product demand, numerous mill closures, and a shrinking rail network have left North America with overburdened forests and a dislocated wood products industry short of adequate material supply. These dynamics strain the economies and quality of life of forest-based communities. Meanwhile, dense forests fuel massive, fast-spreading fires, further decimating the wood baskets of remaining mills.

Forests hold the key to sustainable life on Earth. When untouched by humans, they self-manage. However, given our past forest treatment approaches and ongoing influence, we must redesign our relationship with forests to meet the vital need for forest products, forest enjoyment, CO₂ reduction, and sustainability.

This opportunity can be realized by implementing a continental forest-to-market approach to harvesting, logistics, processing, and manufacturing that supports local community revitalization. Income from multiple value streams within a holistic forest treatment plan can fund forest and watershed restoration and support local forestry services and forest products companies. The viability of the continent’s remaining mills and new facilities will be bolstered by effectively combining trucking to local mills with rail movement of excess material to out-of-area mills and buyers.

The NASFBP enriches the efforts of agencies and businesses by incorporating local community insights. To achieve sustainable forests and forest product industries, we must adopt a broad perspective that spans the continent. By clearly understanding the resource availability, market dynamics, and value chains, we can create effective strategies tailored to each forest and its surrounding community.

What questions will this initiative answer?

1. What elements of a continental forest-to-market strategy applied locally and regionally to individual forests provide a long-lasting approach to forest, watershed, and community renewal?
2. How can collaborating and coordinating across political jurisdictions, including national borders, deliver enhanced returns to all involved?

What are the components of these Continental, National, and Local Action Plans?

1. Multi-layer GIS mapping of forests, logistics infrastructure, woods products companies, and political jurisdictions
2. Forest recovery and treatment plans
3. Optimal harvesting-to-processing plan for multiple value streams
4. Stakeholder roles and participation plan (who is doing what)
5. Transportation and logistics plans
6. Equipment plan
7. Month-by-month expense and revenue plan
8. Sustaining organization and governance design

Phase One: Illuminating the Situation

Core Question: What overarching dynamics in forest management and the wood products industries inform the general improvements needed to establish sustainable forests, vital local communities, and viable wood products companies and industries?

1. What are the current conditions of our forests?
2. What are the challenges to sustainable forest management?
3. What approaches can stakeholders agree on for sustainable forest management?
4. What are the issues and challenges in the wood products industries?
   1. The current cycle sees timber exported and then finished products imported back into the U.S.
   2. Thirty sawmill closures nationally in 2023
      1. Net sawmill capacity decreased by 2% in 2023 (NIP Impressions)
      2. Closures are concentrated in the northwest U.S. and southern states, although there is some geographic diversity in closures
      3. Northwestern U.S. and Montana (Montana Free Press) seem to be hotspots for mill closures.
      4. Closures affect (Workingforest.com)
         1. Local economies
         2. Supply chains
         3. Communities (Loss of tax revenue, decrease in services)
         4. New openings do not ensure net zero exchange of capacity/impacts (location matters)
            
      5. Factors influencing include:
         1. Worker shortages (industry salaries not keeping up with increasing home prices)
         2. Fluctuation in lumber pricing – lower prices in 2024?
         3. Restrictions on cutting on federally owned lands
   3. Attempts to close the national housing supply gap might lead to future demand for lumber (Realtor.com estimates the supply gap at 7.2 million housing units)
5. Who are the stakeholders in forest management? (These questions are answered nationally and then locally.)
   1. Landowners
   2. Watershed associations
   3. Local and Indigenous Peoples
   4. Individual citizens
   5. Land Grants
   6. Public agencies
   7. Landscape conservation collaboratives
   8. Environmental entities
   9. Elected leaders
   10. Consultants/experts
   11. Foundations
   12. Investors/lenders
   13. Scientific and research organizations
   14. Loggers, mill management, and other forest workers
6. Who are the stakeholders in forest harvesting and processing?
   1. Forestry Industry
      1. Loggers
      2. Mills/processors
      3. Other forest workers
   2. Trucking and transportation companies
   3. Local and state economic development agencies
   4. Elected leaders
7. How many acres of forest are there, and where?
   1. Private lands
   2. State lands
   3. Federal lands
8. What mills are in operation?
   1. What value streams does each mill handle?
      1. What wood material does each mill handle?
      2. What wood products does each mill produce?
   2. Which mills are short on supply to satisfy their current capacity?
   3. Which mill management wants to expand capacity for value streams they already handle?
   4. Which mill management wants to expand to handle other value streams?
9. Which mills have closed in the last ten years?
   1. What is the physical condition of each closed mill and its potential for repurposing?
10. What is each state’s Forest Action Plan?
    1. What does it say about the acreage?
    2. What does it say about the challenges?
    3. What solutions does it recommend?
    4. What logistics solutions does the plan lay out?
    5. What harvesting solutions does the plan specify?
    6. Is there an action plan for the Forest Action Plan?
    7. How is the plan commercially informed and commercially relevant?
    8. What progress has been made since the last Action Plan was completed?
11. Who wants to participate in these efforts to revive our forested landscapes and wood products companies?
12. What do forest fires mean to the temporal concerns of forestry?
    1. How long do we have before burned wood has to be removed and used as timber?
    2. How long do we have before burned wood has to be removed and used as biomass?
    3. How does the urgency of ecological restoration demand our focused attention on optimizing existing service providers rather than bringing in resources from across the nation?
    4. What does the surge in harvesting mean for future supply and, therefore, commercial concerns now?
    5. How can work on the urgent priority areas be done to serve the next set of priorities?
    6. Is there a basis for installing “mobile” facilities, including new technology-focused ones, that can be moved to other forest regions?
    7. What are the “Consequences of Delay”?
       1. See Journal of Forestry, April/May 2004, by Dr. John Sessions et al.
    8. What is the best treatment of ground cover in the aftermath of fires for the long-term vitality of forests, and how is this integrated into forestry operations?
    9. How do we address high oak densities post-fire to accelerate recovery to later serial stages?
    10. What changes in genetic or ecological composition are needed to anticipate climate change?
    11. What are the best approaches to stump treatment?
    12. Given shifting climates, what are the desired future conditions for our landscapes, watersheds, and communities?
    13. What is the most appropriate balance between post-fire recovery and future fire mitigation?
13. What are the non-timber industry benefits of improved thinning and holistic forest management?
    1. Reduces future fire risk and improves ecological function
    2. Accommodates human access and enables ecological and watershed restoration
    3. Improves balance between juniper and pinon pine for healthier ecosystems
    4. Stabilizes the soil and restores the landscape
    5. Increased downstream stream flow from forest thinning and fire recovery treatment mitigates drought and climate change and improves water access for agricultural producers
    6. Improves wildlife habitat and diversity
    7. Facilitates grazing and other traditional lifeways
    8. Advances livelihoods consistent with local and Indigenous values
14. What community factors should be identified and weighed in decision-making?
    1. What demographic and economic dynamics of nearby communities should inform the project, e.g., population demographics, primary industries, unemployment, and economic conditions?
    2. What other related industries in the region should be considered in tandem with the forest products logistics strategy, e.g., mines, mills, oil, gas, renewables, agriculture, and manufacturing?
    3. What are the economic development goals of the local communities?
    4. Which communities and residents should be included in evaluating and siting new facilities and infrastructure?
15. What are the economic impacts of the forest products industry?
    1. What are the employment implications?
       1. How many people are employed?
       2. How many people are unemployed?
          1. What is that unemployment cost burden on the state?
       3. How much do employees earn in each forest product-related industry?
       4. Where in the county or state are these people employed?
       5. Which areas have the talent/skills for expansion, and which areas need to import new sources of labor?
       6. If employment talent is lacking, how will it affect the cost of this labor pool?
       7. How much impact would it have on state average wage levels?
       8. What is the seasonal impact of these jobs?
    2. What are the public benefits?
       1. What is the gross revenue?
       2. What are the tax revenues?
       3. What other industries are stimulated by wood/forest industries?
       4. How can downstream industries like furniture manufacturing, wood pellets, paper, cardboard, and general milling help keep jobs in the US?
       5. How will this spur the trucking, rail, and shipping industries?
       6. How would growth in these industries improve our national balance of payments?
       7. What are the environmental concerns and sustainability trends that will impact the industry?
       8. How are tree planting subsidies impacting the expansion of forestry?
       9. How do technological changes impact the expansion and price of wood?
       10. How could the diversification of products in subsectors, such as paper mills, offset declines in traditional markets?
    3. What is the current economic impact of the industry?
       1. How big is the industry?
       2. How much of manufacturing GDP does it comprise?
       3. How many people are directly employed, and how many are indirectly employed?
       4. How has the industry performed over the last year, five years, and ten years?
       5. Which subsectors have grown, and which ones have declined?
       6. How do the questions above vary by state and county?
       7. How much is the industry forecast to change?
       8. How will the housing construction sector in 2025 impact the lumber industry?
       9. How are the interest and mortgage rates going to impact lumber demand?
    4. What are the regional impacts?
       1. In which states and counties is the wood industry in the top 10 manufacturing employment?
       2. How many employees and how much is earned by employees by occupation in each wood-related industry by state and county?
       3. Where in the county or state are these people employed?
       4. How do we determine if there’s sufficient employment talent in the regions for growth?
       5. How do the state and county average wage levels vary by region?
       6. How much has employment by sector changed over the past five years by state and county?
16. What are the economic implications of the non-harvesting forest activities?
    1. Tourism
       1. Camping and hiking
       2. Skiing
    2. Hunting
    3. Agriculture

Phase Two: Determining the Local and Regional Material Supply

Core Questions: What will a scaled-up, sustainable, and holistic treatment approach generate as accessible forest material for each value chain from each forest and region?What is needed to harvest and transport this material volume?

1. What GIS map layers are needed to inform this opportunity?
   1. All forests
   2. Each forest harvesting volume by tree type and size, and ancillary material type and volume
   3. Local logging companies
   4. Timber product sorting facilities
   5. Wood product processors and mills
   6. Wood products manufacturers
   7. Roads, highways, rail sidings, lines, and yards
      1. Operating or potential for reactivation
   8. Container terminals and ports and their wood products capabilities
   9. Export fumigation facilities
   10. Transportation service providers
2. What are the value streams to evaluate?
   1. Cants
   2. Lumber
   3. Wood Pellets
   4. Wood Chips
   5. Mulch
   6. Animal bedding/shavings
   7. Compost
   8. Firewood
   9. Vigas
   10. Specialty Wood Products
       1. Flooring
       2. Furniture
       3. Fence posts
   11. Treated Posts
   12. Latillas (Wood stays)
   13. OSB and other stranded material
       1. Oriented strand board
       2. Wood wool cement
       3. Carbon fiber-reinforced plastics
   14. Wood mass to biochar
   15. Wood mass to energy
   16. Secondary processing
   17. Recreation
   18. Ecosystem services
   19. Agriculture
       1. Grazing
       2. Water supply
   20. Fire mitigation
   21. Carbon credits
   22. Federal and state funding
3. What are the silvicultural prescriptions and feedstock volumes?
   1. What is the current status of the state’s stand-based inventory?
   2. What entity owns and manages each forest stand, i.e., federal, state, county, tribal, or private?
   3. What types of trees and sizes, including species, age, health, stand structure, and photosynthetic activity?
   4. What are the slopes and aspects (direction)?
   5. What percentage of the forest is burned or likely to burn soon?
   6. What is the stand's current condition and its anticipated condition/deterioration over the coming months while harvesting activity can be scaled up?
   7. What cultural, ecological, and hydrological values need to be addressed?
   8. What is the current forest management plan for the entire forest, and is it current?
   9. What is the current forest management plan for the stand, and is it up to date?
   10. What activity is going on in each forest? What species are harvested? Who is currently harvesting each forest? How does each entity type approach its forestry management activities?
   11. Which stands are not being managed to meet the forest restoration goals, particularly overstocking?
   12. Where is the forest composition relative to historic baseline conditions?
   13. What was the historic range of variation, and how do we move closer to those conditions?
   14. What is the silvicultural prescription?
   15. What are the species, tree sizes, log volumes, and logging residues to be removed based on the silvicultural prescription?
   16. What quantity and type of byproducts (e.g., forest slash) are generated at each forest? Are they shipped, and if so, where and how?
   17. What quantity and type of waste products are generated at each forest, and how and where are they disposed of?
   18. What are the most significant unmet opportunities?
   19. What material and volumes from each stand need new market solutions?
   20. Which entities are best positioned to conduct the harvesting activities in each forest?
4. How do the feedstock volumes add up at the regional level?
   1. How does each stand relate to other stands in the region so that the aggregate regional volume of common material is identified?
5. How do in-forest logistics assets determine accessibility for harvesting?
   1. What are the roads in each forest stand, and what entity owns and maintains those roads?
   2. What are the legal guidelines for road use, construction, and maintenance?
   3. What are these roads’ conditions, how has fire damaged them, and how are they vulnerable?
   4. What work is needed on which roads for accessibility to treat forests?
   5. What are the seasonal characteristics of these roads?
   6. What are the characteristics of the critical infrastructure elements in the forest? What do we have? What’s missing?
   7. Where are new roads and cleared land needed to render forest material removal viable?
   8. Given the characteristics and regulations of the in-forest logistics, what percentage of the forest stands are physically accessible?
   9. Which entities are best positioned to conduct the transportation activities from each forest?
6. What is the composition of the regional infrastructure for forest materials’ logistics?
   1. What is the region’s publicly accessible road network?
   2. What is the general condition of forest road access?
   3. What are these area roads' weight, clearance, and safety restrictions?
   4. Where are the existing railroad main lines, branch lines, spur lines, sidings, and loading infrastructure?
   5. Where are the existing rail- and truck-served infrastructure assets for transload, distribution, and storage?
   6. Who owns each facility and network section, and what services and capacities do they have?
   7. Where can new rail loading facilities enhance forestry operations and minimize transportation costs and impacts?
   8. Are these new developments commercially viable, or do they need public subsidization?
7. What existing and new capacity is needed for short- and long-term harvesting?
   1. Which entities are best positioned to conduct harvesting activities in each forest?
   2. What new resources or support does each entity need?
8. What are the performance characteristics and costs of available equipment types for harvesting, in-forest logistics, and regional transportation?
   1. What are the harvesting equipment choices?
   2. What are the transportation equipment choices?
      1. What are the specifications of the trucks that can be utilized in each stand in support of each material-removal activity?
      2. What transportation range can each vehicle type be viable?
      3. What are the equipment costs for each vehicle type?
      4. What is the status of diesel-alternative energy technology for each vehicle type?
   3. What new collaborative pooling of harvesting and transportation equipment improves the financial viability of scaled-up harvesting and logistics?

Phase Three: Conceiving the Forest-to-Market System for Logistics and Processing of Forest Materials

Core Questions: What innovations, logistics, and business systems will support scaled-up local processing of forest material and, as needed, transportation to out-of-area processing to handle large volumes? How can these new initiatives align with current forestry and economic development efforts?

1. What is the optimal conception of existing and potential new local processing facilities, including mills?
   1. Where are the in-area timber (lumber, pellets, paper, paperboard, energy, biomass) processing facilities?
   2. What are the significant barriers to and opportunities for developing supply chains related to conventional forestry products (e.g., firewood, posts, flooring, timber, vigas, etc.)?
   3. What does each existing facility need to reach its capacity expansion goals?
   4. How do existing mills fit into a regional strategy?
   5. How do we coordinate processing capacity for optimal benefit?
   6. What is the optimal size and location of new processing capacity for conventional products?
      1. What are the implications/limitations of weather on the location choice?
      2. What are the implications of elevation and grade direction to the location choice?
      3. What are the implications of the road network on the location choice?
   7. What other value streams can be nurtured to encompass a complete forest treatment-to-market approach, including new uses of biomass for energy and construction materials?
      1. What are the significant barriers and opportunities associated with developing supply chains related to biomass energy, biochar, building materials, carbon markets, electricity, and other non-traditional uses of forest products?
      2. How can biomass and other income streams improve the viability of mill operations?
   8. What inbound freight exists for forestry and connected and parallel industries, such as papermaking chemicals and animal feeds?
   9. What new associated product manufacturing facilities are made viable by this coordinated forestry planning?
   10. What new investments in existing or new technologies can be deployed in the region in the short- and long term?
   11. Where should new processing facilities with the latest technologies and products be optimally located?
2. What forest materials need additional capacity to be met outside the area?
   1. Where are the nearest out-of-area wood processing facilities?
   2. Which facilities have supply needs or growth potential?
3. What new logistics solutions and capital are needed for this long-distance transportation?
   1. What logistics services enable viable transportation of each forest’s harvested materials to the optimal destination?
   2. What new infrastructure elements are needed for each transportation solution?
   3. What truck types and numbers are needed for local transportation?
   4. What rail car types and fleet management strategies are needed for instate and out-of-state transportation?
   5. Which transportation providers, including rail, trucking, port, and transload operators, can be engaged to assess the commercial feasibility of gathering and delivering forest products to domestic and foreign markets?
4. How do the financial elements of this forest-to-market solution add up to an economically viable, culturally informed, and environmentally sound approach for everyone involved?
   1. What are the needs and opportunities for investors in this North American Sustainable Forestry Business Plan?
   2. Who are the investors that want to make these investments?
5. What governance and commercial innovations are needed to sustain this collaboration?
   1. How do we best integrate local and Indigenous values into our process?
   2. What laws and protocols must be addressed to accommodate this coordination among Canada, the United States, and Mexico?
   3. How can relations with and between local, state, and federal governments be improved?
   4. What new governance arrangements need to be undertaken to create these improvements?
   5. What corporate or coop structures are needed to reflect holistic, collaborative frameworks?
   6. Who should be seated at the table, and how is it organized?
   7. How do we fund whole communities, not just individuals, businesses, homes, and landowners?
   8. What financial and logistical support should be funded by the federal governments of Mexico, the U.S., and Canada?
   9. Through what public-private partnerships can the completion and implementation of the Business Plan be supported?
   10. What do agencies need to enable them to share or devolve power or authority to non-governmental or collaborative entities?
   11. What are state or federal entities' major fiduciary and statutory requirements?
   12. What governance arrangements are needed to meet these state and federal requirements?
   13. How do we address inurement prohibitions in organizational structures?
6. How do we interface with, support, and augment existing landscape and watershed conservation efforts?
   1. How do we build upon and augment the legacy and current collaborative landscape-scale forestry already underway?
   2. Specifically, which programs do we build on, and what models do we emulate regarding local and national initiatives?
   3. What pitfalls should be avoided - what has worked and what has not?
   4. How are private lands best integrated into state and federal planning efforts?
   5. How can progress on private lands assist the overall forest management and stewardship goals?
   6. How can the USFS and state forestry departments assist in the stewardship of private lands?
7. How can we better synthesize public and private land stewardship?
   1. How can collaboration succeed in the region?
   2. What barriers to progress in forests and the forest industry must be addressed?
   3. How do we ensure industry involvement is consistent with landscape conservation and community development goals?
   4. What assessments of existing industry and barriers and needs have already been completed? And when were they completed?
   5. Are local forestry-related businesses changing their business models due to recent fires?
   6. What assistance do businesses need toward contracting with the State, Fed, or private customers?
   7. How can we better inform contractors of emergency harvesting activities to retain commercial value and maximize ecological and social benefits?
   8. What can we learn from the experience of the recent fire mitigation and recovery efforts going forward?
   9. How can state forestry departments and the national forestry agency (e.g., U.S. Forest Service) improve their collaboration toward shared goals?
   10. Are the new U.S. Forest Plans completed in 2022 the best framing, or should we follow other legal guidelines? In essence, how do we best integrate with the existing frameworks?
   11. How does the NASFBP collaborate with other large landscape and community forest conservation efforts?
   12. How do we define the regional boundaries, and with whom must we align or partner in each region?

Throughout: Informing the Conception with Local Knowledge

Core Question: What questions do we ask each stakeholder group, and what have they contributed to the collective thinking so far?

1. What questions do we ask specific stakeholder groups, and what have they contributed to the collective thinking so far?
   1. Local and Indigenous peoples
      1. How does forest and watershed renewal align with your values and lifeways?
      2. How can newer, more efficient, diversified approaches to forestry further your values or interests?
      3. What threats to your values and lifeways are occurring from the existing dynamics?
      4. How do threats from previous or potential wildfires impact your culture and lifeways?
      5. What opportunities, threats, or disadvantages do you see from a regional forestry strategy?
   2. Landowners
      1. Forest management
         1. What are the primary land stewardship issues landowners face?
         2. What quality of life goals do we want front and center in a regional forest-to-market approach?
         3. What environmental concerns do we want to address in a regional forest-to-market approach?
         4. What assistance is needed to relate to the state and federal government effectively?
            1. What are the issues in accessing state and federal funds?
            2. What are the management plan challenges?
            3. What are the issues in assessing loss?
            4. What are the issues in implementing fire recovery approaches?
            5. How can we relate most productively with other landscape cooperatives?
         5. What is the status of each landowner’s forest management plan?
         6. What is the total forestry harvesting volume needed to be done annually?
         7. How much new labor is needed?
         8. What are the opportunities to establish shared equipment pools?
            1. Burn wagons
            2. Firewood processing gear
            3. Trucks
         9. What are the opportunities to establish collective forest treatment contracts?
         10. Which log roads need maintenance?
         11. How do we better integrate stewardship of public and private lands?
             1. Connect with the State Lands Office
         12. How can smaller landowners participate in this Action Plan?
         13. How do we integrate federal recovery funding granted to individual landowners into a coherent strategy?
   3. Market development
      1. What challenges identifying contractors need to be addressed?
         1. Bonding and legitimacy of payroll protocols render many small contractors ineligible for government funding.
      2. What challenges in identifying markets for materials need to be addressed?
      3. For which forest materials have it proven easier to find contractors?
      4. What issues with contractors need to be addressed?
      5. What issues with processors need to be addressed?
      6. What types and volumes of material need new local processing capacity?
      7. Which forest material needs a costs-for-service agreement?
      8. Where should new milling capacity be established?
      9. What entity and organizational structure best supports this overall forest-to-market system?
         1. What involvement of the large landowners should be considered?
            1. Volume guarantees
            2. Investment in facilities and infrastructure
            3. Short-term advances against costs, then reimbursed by product supply
      10. What concerns for privacy, confidentiality, and appropriate treatment of information need to be addressed within a collaborative planning process?
      11. What education for landowners is needed?
      12. How can we establish a fair and impartial process for timber valuation?
      13. What elements comprise a productive and fair regional forest material “exchange”?
   4. Fire prevention and mitigation
      1. How can prescribed fire be used productively and safely as a management strategy?
         1. How is fear of fire handicapping overall effectiveness?
         2. How can we improve the process for obtaining burn and smoke permits?
         3. How can we coordinate a regional fire management strategy?
            1. How do each landowner’s priorities fit into the larger landscape approach?
      2. How do we use geospatial information to guide fuel break locations and related strategies?
         1. What are the optimal uses of fuel breaks within the overall forest management strategy?
         2. What factors need to be incorporated into a fuel breaks strategy?
            1. Where are the prevailing winds?
            2. What is the optimal scale of prescribed burns?
            3. What are the associated costs at various scales?
      3. Where are the optimal locations to focus forest thinning activities?
   5. Burnt forest issues
      1. What has to happen for soil and erosion control?
      2. What can be done with the forest slash safely and viably?
      3. What are the uses of burnt forest material?
      4. What is needed to restore the roads?
      5. What is needed to restore the acequias?
      6. What is needed to restore the fences?
      7. What is needed to restore the water system?
2. What are the trespass issues that need to be addressed?
   1. ATVs
   2. Poaching for game
   3. Taking firewood
   4. Partying
   5. Vandalism
3. Questions for individual landowners
   1. Is the high density of burned or unburned trees a severe challenge on your lands?
   2. What concerns about how adjacent forests to your lands are being managed?
   3. What harvesting activity are you doing now, and how?
   4. What is your on-staff and available contracting capacity for forest harvesting?
   5. How many acres would you treat if a viable approach were developed within this comprehensive forest-to-market strategy?
   6. In what timeframe do you want to have this acreage treated?
   7. How do you want to participate in the development of the Action Plan?
   8. How do you want to participate in the implementation of the Action Plan?
   9. What is your political influence, and how can we activate that influence as a group?
   10. Will you engage with OTNA to make a case for this Action Plan with decision-makers?
   11. Will you contribute financially to this effort?
   12. Will you agree to this participation agreement?
       1. I promise to respond to the OTNA emails or phone messages within 48 hours or sooner when time is crucial.
       2. I promise to invest up to 1-2 hours a week in reading and writing when asked so that my input effectively contributes to this effort.
4. What else needs to be investigated?
   1. What is the condition and use of area wood-fired boiler systems?
5. State and federal forestry staff
   1. Administrative
      1. How does the U.S. Forest Service Planning Rule 2012 inform the local work?
      2. What Forest Plans have been completed?
      3. What other legal guidelines have to be recognized?
      4. What is the best way to coordinate with these plans and guidelines?
      5. What funding or other support opportunities can we tie into, and how can state and federal agencies assist?
      6. How do we assist states and agencies in attaining funding and logistical support?
      7. What misinformation challenges you?
         1. What information do you need to spread?
         2. How can we use our networks to inform and educate the public and decision-makers?
   2. Current Efforts Assessment
      1. How do we build upon and augment the legacy and ongoing collaborative landscape-scale forestry efforts already underway?
      2. Specifically, which programs do you suggest building on, and what models do you suggest we emulate among local initiatives and national programs?
      3. What pitfalls should be avoided - what has worked and what has not?
      4. What can we learn from the experience of the recent fire mitigation and recovery efforts going forward?
         1. How can State Forestry Divisions and the U.S. Forest Service improve their collaboration toward shared goals?
      5. What is the most appropriate balance between post-fire recovery and future fire mitigation?
      6. What assessments of existing industry barriers and needs have been completed, and when?
      7. What other large landscape and ecosystem planning efforts are underway?
      8. How do you suggest the NASFBP collaborate with these other forest conservation efforts?
6. Private Land Coordination
   1. How are private lands best integrated into these state and federal planning efforts?
   2. How can progress on private lands assist the overall forest management and stewardship goals?
   3. How can the USFS and State Forestry Divisions assist in the stewardship of private lands?
   4. How can we better synthesize public and private land stewardship?
7. Forestry and forest products business leaders
   1. How can we improve how federal agencies handle forest material?
      1. Bid before harvesting so it can be cut to suitable lengths
      2. FEMA, in post-fire situations, has little connection to forest companies and landowners and is chopping material into 4’-6’ pieces with limited utility
   2. How do we level the playing field between large national and local contractors?
   3. How can we improve communications between the local forest industry and state and federal agencies?
      1. Close the timber sales promptly on state and private lands
      2. How do we establish communications between the USFS and the timber industry?
   4. What federal policies concerning forest management need to be re-evaluated?
      1. NEPA needs to be streamlined
      2. NEPA exception in devasted landscapes and Federal Disaster Zones
      3. Archaeological sites are already known and have typically already been damaged
      4. 1990 Roadless Act, passed during the Clinton administration, requires using main roads only
         1. Carson National Forest and the Bridge Road area had 100,000+ latillas that could have been harvested in the aftermath of the 2022 Hermits Peak/Calf’s Canyon Fire, but for the closure of the roads
      5. They need to take a whole forest management approach
      6. The prohibition against salvage alongside forest treatment has to be removed
      7. The federal agencies that are involved in forest management, recreation, fire recovery, environmental issues, wildlife, and transportation aren’t coordinating
      8. Need equipment loans to cover operating capital, FSA loans are capped, stringent requirements, 150% collateral
   5. How can we improve communications and understanding with the environmental community?
      1. Recognize loggers as environmentalists.
   6. How can we improve how landowners relate to forest treatment and local logging and mill management?
      1. Need to address small landowners’ burned trees near their homes
      2. Communication and Education
      3. Forest treatment for material contracts
      4. Utilize the logging and mill owners to educate the landowners and others
      5. Establish a local marketplace hub for pricing, supply, and offers on forest treatment services and material disposition
      6. What other challenges in doing your work do we want to address?
   7. What capacity increases would you like to be capitalized for?
      1. What shortcomings do you find in how banks relate to you?
   8. There are no local banks that offer standard equipment financing
      1. Need new low-interest/reasonable-interest equipment loan fund
      2. Banks don’t understand the non-equipment capital needs
      3. Need a new source of collateral and guarantee
      4. Need a method for valuing wood inventory
      5. Need to be considered an ag industry
   9. In addition to capital, what else do you need to grow?
   10. What are the opportunities to share and coordinate equipment across your businesses?
   11. What are the opportunities to share and coordinate wood supply contacts and relationships across your businesses?
   12. What are the opportunities to coordinate forest activity across your businesses?
   13. What concerns about this cooperation do you want to make sure are addressed?
   14. What are your other concerns about the current system, and how can it be improved to better assist you in expanding your work?
   15. How can we address the need for more skilled labor, operators, and managers?
       1. Environmentalists have to stop stigmatizing logging
       2. Invite equipment providers like Ponsee to participate in training
   16. How can we address the need for additional employee housing in emergencies?
   17. How can state and federal financial and logistical support better serve your needs?
8. Local public sector and community leaders
   1. How have the recent fires impacted your community and your work?
   2. What goals would your community want to see advanced from this forestry action plan?
   3. What concerns do you want to ensure are addressed in this Action Plan?
   4. What resource limits need to be addressed for this initiative to be successful? Potential issues include, but are not limited to:
      1. Housing
      2. Labor force
      3. Road capacity
      4. Transportation networks
      5. More effective and relevant state and federal support
   5. What adjustments to your current role or mission would enable you to focus more on long-term collective benefit?
9. Environmental groups
   1. How do you define and conceive forest and watershed health?
   2. How does forest and watershed health impact your work and programmatic mission?
   3. How have recent fires impacted your mission and operations?
   4. What are the significant barriers to improving forest and watershed health?
   5. What are the significant opportunities for improving forest and watershed health?
   6. What concerns for the vitality of the environment, watersheds, and wildlife do you want to have a role in addressing within this forest-to-market strategy?
   7. How can your organization support a positive view of forest workers as environmental stewards?
10. Foundations and philanthropists
    1. What forest and watershed issues are the most significant challenges?
    2. How have the recent fires impacted your actions and role?
    3. What needs are not being addressed under the current system?
    4. What would help you make your work more effective?
    5. What resources can you provide to this Initiative, and what questions and guidance do you have toward applying those resources?
11. New technology developers
    1. What technology could be productively included in this initiative?
    2. What is the current status of your technology and its deployment?
    3. What capital or support is needed to advance your technology?
12. Foundational questions for all stakeholders
    1. What resources do you have in your control that may be helpful to this Initiative?
    2. What resources do you know outside your control that you want to ensure we are aware of?
    3. What resources do you want assistance accessing?
    4. What is your vision for how the federal government, the state, and the region should relate to this Initiative?
    5. How do you want to participate in this Initiative?
    6. Based on your understanding of this initiative, do you want the state and federal governments to embrace and support the project?