The two disasters damaged 4.4 billion board feet of timber, representing two years of harvest for softwoods and 11 years of hardwoods.
Much of the land was owned by private and non-industrial landowners, and mills have struggled as the industry was unable to get blown trees picked up and transported for use. More than a year after the hurricanes only 10-15% of the windfall has been salvaged.
A spokesperson for the industry said it would work with the state’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry to “put together a team of experts, representatives of the industry, public policy makers and academics to develop a plan that would help us be more prepared.”
