Creation of a Maine Forest Advisory Board draws sharp comments from both sides
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Creating Maine forest panel draws sharp comments from both sides
sunjournal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sunjournal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Staff
A federal bill that would allow owners of small logging businesses to train 16- and 17-year-old family members in Maine forest products careers is being backed by the state s congressional delegation.
The Future Logging Careers Act addresses one of the biggest issues in Maine s forest industry the aging workforce and lack of young workers to fill the gap. Industry leaders, looking to add $3.5 billion to Maine s forest-related economy in the next five years, have said expanding or even maintaining workforce levels is the biggest challenge.
The labor shortage in the logging industry is reaching a crisis point, with an estimated 2,000 loggers and heavy-duty truckers about a third of the industry s workforce reaching retirement age in the next eight years, according to a recent University of Southern Maine study.