File photo / Courtesy of Professional Logging Contractors of Maine
Dana Doran
Updated: 2 hours ago
Maine loggers would get federal disaster relief under bill
File photo / Courtesy of Professional Logging Contractors
Current law excludes loggers from the kinds of disaster relief and assistance available to other industries, including fishermen and farmers, when natural disasters strike.
Maine loggers and their peers nationwide would be entitled to federal disaster relief when natural disasters strike under a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by all four members of Maine’s congressional delegation.
Current law excludes loggers from the kinds of disaster relief and assistance available to other industries, including fishermen and farmers, when natural disasters strike.
Under the Loggers Economic Assistance and Relief Act, a disaster declaration from the president or governor would unlock federal assistance eligibility for eligible logging businesses. To be eligible, their revenue or volume would have to be at least 10% below the previous year.
Covered damage would include high winds, fire, flooding insect infestation and drought.
Funding would come from a new program to be established within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, were original sponsors of the legislation, which was introduced last week by U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd District and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
'Swift passage'
One storm alone in December 2023 — dubbed the "Grinch storm" — cost Maine’s logging industry $2.6 million in losses, and the economy as a whole $5.5 million, due to that winter’s loss in logging revenue and productivity.
“Generations of loggers have spent their lifetimes powering our state’s economy while providing for their families, which is why it is so important to protect and sustain this historic industry,” King said. “The logging industry has supported rural Maine families and communities for hundreds of years, and it’s imperative that investments in our foresting community evolve for today’s challenges as we protect it for a sturdy future.”
Logging industry leaders welcome the proposed measure.
“For too long, logging and forest trucking contractors in the Northeast have been left out of federal relief efforts in the wake of natural disasters, despite suffering losses as severe as those in other industries like fishing and farming that have received aid,” said Dana Doran, executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast. “We encourage swift passage of the Loggers Economic Assistance and Relief Act to provide the aid the industry deserves.”
Mainebiz web partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments