The U.S. wood supply system is the largest and most highly developed in the world, providing the raw material that furnishes our country’s seventh largest industrial sector: forest products. Overregulation threatens this system’s ability to continue to serve both its economic and environmental goals.

Every now and then, I come across something that sparks a new passion within me for the forest products industry. This happened most recently when I saw the TEDx Talk by Donna Cassese, Sappi North America’s Managing Director of Wood Resource Strategy. Drawing from more than 40 years in the industry, Donna presents a compelling case for why the advanced use of technology and innovation will bring immeasurable opportunities for the future use of wood.

The Kirtland’s Warbler is a small songbird that nests in young, mostly jack pine stands in Michigan and Wisconsin. The birds migrate to the Bahamas in fall and return in spring to nest.

Logging companies are facing two challenges that have produced a crisis threatening South Carolina’s wood supply chain.