PPRC Position Paper on Forest Management

The PPRC supports measures to better manage our forests to increase resilience and growth in the wake of fires, hurricanes, disease, insects, and natural disasters.

• The PPRC recognizes the importance of the entire forest products value chain; from landowners, foresters, loggers, sawmills, pulp and paper mills, and the communities that depend on them. We also recognize the legitimate interest in helping landowners and federal land managers address low-value biomass, forest health and wildfire risk. However, expanding Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) incentives to qualify more woody biomass would distort the market for wood fiber by subsidizing fuel production to compete directly with pulp and paper mills for the same raw material. This would lead to rising fiber costs, undermining mill competitiveness and shifting U.S. pulp and paper production to foreign competitors, costing American jobs..

• For that reason, the PPRC stands in opposition of proposals to expand Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) incentives to include whole trees, pulpwood and other woody biomass that already serve as essential inputs for U.S. pulp, paper, packaging and tissue manufacturers. Wood fiber is one of the industry’s largest input costs, and reliable, affordable access to fiber is critical to keeping mills competitive and sustaining manufacturing jobs in rural communities.
• Congress should oppose the proposal unless the policy changes are targeted, market-sensitive and structured to protect pulp and paper mills from subsidized competition for mill-quality fiber.
• To mitigate risks to mills while addressing value chain calls for new markets, policymakers should consider guardrails such as, focused eligibility on material from federal lands where removal is needed to address serious wildfire risk, or forest-health objectives. For non-federal lands, require a market-failure analysis before material can qualify for RFS incentives.

The PPRC supports measures to better manage our forests to increase resilience and growth in the wake of fires, hurricanes, disease, insects, and natural disasters.

The PPRC supports legislation, such as H.R. 471 Fix Our Forest Act, and any other legislation that could help fund fire suppression, forest inventory, and sustainable forest management, while considering the small window of opportunity to salvage fiber after a disastrous event.