Gov. Tony Evers sent a letter to the Trump Administration urging immediate action to prevent funding and staff cuts that will impact Wisconsin’s forests and the state’s forestry industry.
Wisconsin ranks first in the nation in paper production and exports over $850 million in paper products annually. The state’s forestry products industry contributes $42 billion to its economy and 126,000 jobs. In a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, Gov. Evers asked the Trump Administration to recognize the importance of Wisconsin’s forests as valuable resources that are crucial to ensuring Wisconsin’s current and future economic success.
According to the governor’s letter, federal cuts to wood products research and development, including staffing and funding cuts to the Forest Products Laboratory, would disproportionately impact Wisconsin and harm the work currently being done to develop new markets and opportunities for forest products while also protecting the health and sustainability of the state’s forestlands.
A copy of the governor’s letter to USDA Secretary Rollins is available here.
