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Forestry & Logging

Industry Overview

The Northeast and Appalachian forests provide livelihoods for thousands of logging industry workers. Nearly one in nine U.S. logging jobs is located in our service region producing nearly $13 billion in gross domestic product—from lumber, paper, and cardboard, to pulpwood and biomass for fuel.

11%
1 in 9 of the commercial logging jobs in the US are located in the region served by Northeast Center.
$13 B
Gross domestic product yielded by the logging industry in the Northeast.

The Stakes Couldn’t Be Higher

Before a big haul is trucked out of the woods, a tremendous amount of skill and hard work done by hand and with sophisticated large machinery takes place. Workers often endure extremes—sub-zero cold, long shifts that might start in the middle of the night, far commutes into the depths of remote forest, and potential risk to one’s health and safety. Nationwide, loggers are killed on the job at a rate 28 times that of the average worker, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Logging workers also suffer from higher rates of injury, hearing loss, musculoskeletal disorders and chronic illness than those in other industries.

Featured Forestry/Logging Projects

Chainsaw Safety Training

Photovoice

Surveillance

Maine Logger Health & Safety

“Logging is in my blood; my great-grandfather started in the woods before he was out of high school…”

Thomas Douglass

Thomas Logging & Forestry

Forestry News & Media

Grants for One-Year Projects

Deadline for Submissions: July 7, 2021 Applications for the Northeast Center’s small grants program are currently available. Our 2021-2022 program will fund two $25,000 mini-grants

Northeast Center Forestry Videos

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