Facts About Idaho Loggers and Idaho Forests

Idaho Loggers go to work every day because each year the average American uses 43 cubic feet of wood and 681 pounds of paper. That is over a ton of wood each year or the equivalent of one 100-foot tall tree, 18 inches in diameter.

These products begin with a tree.

Idaho Loggers work hard to bring these products to you while helping to ensure that a healthy forest continues to grow.

Logging is hard work and a proud profession. Idaho loggers take pride in the work they do to provide wood products for Americans while doing their part to manage our forests for today and tomorrow.

Loggers are highly skilled and utilize high-tech equipment on the job.

As Loggers, we work to help foresters implement plans to keep our forests growing strong and healthy while at the same time utilizing the material harvested for the products we each use daily.

Idaho law requires replanting after an area has been logged. Loggers support this law. Each year over 18 million seedlings are hand-planted in the Idaho forest while Mother Nature plants millions more.

In 1990, Idaho’s forests grew 1.6 times as much timber as was harvested.

Idaho Loggers believe that President Bush’s Healthy Forest Initiative provides a common sense approach to management of our nation’s precious forests.

What Are The Current Economics Stats of the Logging Industry?

• April 2001 numbers from the Idaho Department of Labor (IDOL) show there are 1300 people on logging company payrolls in Idaho.
• This figure does not include the independent Owner-Operators.
• There are additional Loggin Employees reflected in the Transportation Sector of the IDOL reports.  There are differences in reporting between IDOL regions, but we know that at least an additional 350 to 500 employees are reflected in the Transportation Industry sector of IDOL.
• The Idaho Department of Transportation estimated that in 2000, there were 2181 Logging Trucks registered in Idaho.
• Average wage for industry in Idaho is $27,712.00.
• Average wage for the Logging Industry in Idaho is $35,647.00.
• Estimated total sales volume of Idaho's primary wood and paper companies for 2000 was $1.32 billion dollars.

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