Political Quotes

“during National Forest Products Week, I am glad to join my colleagues in highlighting the important role that the forest products industry plays in Oregon and nationwide. Many rural communities throughout Oregon were founded on the success of the forest products industry. With fresh innovations and a focus on sustainability, the industry continues to bolster these communities year after year. In Oregon, the industry supports more than 37,000 jobs, pumping over $2 billion in wages directly into local economies. Overall, the industry produces a combined product value of over $7.8 billion. By encouraging a sustainable forest products industry in Oregon and across the country, we can help strengthen markets for wood products, both here and abroad, and continue to ensure the success of rural economies. When harvested in a sustainable manner, wood can reduce carbon emissions, and new state-of-the-art technologies using wood as a building material have made timber more fire resistant and stronger than ever. Wood has the potential to contribute vastly to a low-carbon economy by locking up the carbon that trees draw out of the atmosphere when they grow. Wood products like cross laminated timber also bring down construction costs for multiple story buildings in large cities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has already recognized a project in my hometown of Portland that will demonstrate the unique benefits of timber as a building material for a new age.…”