Forestry industry stands tall in Florida

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By LEE ANN FISCH

Special to the Reporter

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  • Alan Shelby, executive vice president of the Florida Forestry Association, speaks to the Rotary Club of Lake City during a presentation on Thursday. Shelby, and Lake City Rotarian and Florida Forestry Association President Carlton Jones, brought the program to the club. Forestry is a $100 million industry in Columbia County and the county has 700 forestry related jobs. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)
    Alan Shelby, executive vice president of the Florida Forestry Association, speaks to the Rotary Club of Lake City during a presentation on Thursday. Shelby, and Lake City Rotarian and Florida Forestry Association President Carlton Jones, brought the program to the club. Forestry is a $100 million industry in Columbia County and the county has 700 forestry related jobs. (TODD WILSON/Lake City Reporter)
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When longtime Lake City resident Carlton Jones took the helm as president of the Florida Forestry Association in September 2020, it became his mission to share the forestry story across the state.

On Thursday, Executive Vice President Alan Shelby joined Jones at the Rotary Club of Lake City for an informational program.

“Forestry has a great, positive story to tell,” Jones said. “We are the people providing clean air and water. Our forests are sustainable and renewable. Our products are in demand. The environmental services forests provide are invaluable.”

Jones has been a Rotary member for 28 years and has also served as club president. He is only the second person from Lake City, behind the late Philip Moses Sr., who has served as state president of the Forestry Association in 1969.

“I’m proud to be part of both groups,” Jones said. “I believe we need to be innovative and stay positive, especially in these challenging times. If we think things through and do them the right way, the sky is the limit. The Florida Forestry Association and Lake City Rotary Club live out that philosophy every day. They’re both committed to making things better.”

Shelby gave the presentation to the club on Thursday and offered statistics about the timber industry across the state.

Florida has 17 million acres of forest land and 64% of this land is privately owned. Around 80% of the forest cover in the state is located from Ocala north. Timber is one of the state’s top agricultural crops, Shelby said.

“In forestry, we are a crop,” Shelby said. “We’re just a little bit longer rotation than most crops.”

In Columbia County, 370,000 acres remain in forest. The industry supports 700 jobs in Columbia County, Shelby said, and forestry’s economic impact locally is $100 million.

Statewide, the forest industry produces a $25 billion contribution to the state’s economy and helps to employ 124,000 people.

According to Jones, the forest industry has been spared the economic havoc that covid-19 has unleashed on other sectors. It was, in fact, recognized as an essential industry and has remained very strong. With forest products in high demand, industry workers have been able to keep their jobs.

The strength of the industry, explained Jones, has a far-reaching effect. It not only impacts the forestland owners, loggers, consulting foresters, silvicultural operations, mills and production facilities, it also creates a ripple effect of support for many local businesses that the industry touches.

“We’ve continued to use all of our peripheral products, services and industries and have kept them going as well,” Jones noted. “When you think about all the businesses we work with that were able to keep their doors open because we didn’t close ours, that’s important.”

“The forest industry has a lot to be proud of, including being the first agricultural industry in the state to implement best management practices, replanting seedlings on thousands of acres annually and providing many outdoor recreation opportunities for Florida citizens,” he said.

According to Jones, the future looks bright for the forest industry. He sees opportunities arising from issues such as environmental services, climate change, carbon sequestration and mitigation, as well as from a fresh awareness of the need for the amazing array of items made from forest products.

 

Publisher Todd Wilson contributed information for this story.