Struggling Timber Industry Puts Rural Idaho At Crossroads
David Bartlett stopped frequently to chat with friends as he made inquiries with employers at a recent Idaho Department of Labor job fair in Orofino. The nonchalance of the former Tri-Pro Forest Products employee and father of five children disguised very real stress. “My last paycheck is coming up,” said Bartlett, of Kooskia. “After that, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I hope I find something.”
Without something, Bartlett’s family will be forced to make ends meet with the part-time paycheck his wife earns at Kamiah’s senior center. Bartlett isn’t alone. Close to 60 people lost their jobs when Tri-Pro shuttered its mill near Orofino in October as it struggled to find enough logs to feed the mill.
An unknown number of them have already landed other positions. Some of those who haven’t are exploring their options. They join others looking for a career to replace whatever haphazard income they have been cobbling together in a county battered by a declining timber industry. The two groups are large enough that the midweek job fair drew a crowd at a time when the economy is strong enough that many employers are struggling to find quality applicants.
Success for Bartlett could mean a lengthy commute. Clearwater County has the highest unemployment rate in Idaho, even though neighboring Nez Perce County has one of the stronger manufacturing bases in the nation. Overall, north central Idaho’s unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in September. Increasingly, however, the jobs are concentrated in Lewiston at large employers such as Vista Outdoor, Clearwater Paper and Howell Munitions and Technology.
Clearwater County’s unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in September, the most recent month for which numbers are available. That figure doesn’t fully describe how tough Clearwater County’s job market is. It doesn’t account for the jobs lost at Tri-Pro, which continued a trend that started in 2000 when Potlatch closed its Pierce plywood mill.
From The Washington Times: washingtontimes.com.
Latest News
Resolute Forest Products Idles Oakhill Sawmill
Roughly 100 employees at the Resolute Forest Products sawmill near Oakhill will be out of work as the effect brought by the parent company’s decision to indefinitely stop operations at the newsprint facility in Queens…
B.C. Forest Board Says Future Timber Supply At Risk
British Columbia’s independent forest practices watchdog says future timber supplies in the province are at stake and the Liberal government needs to get moving on management plans for pine beetle and fire damaged forests. A…
Canadian Forest Industry Applauds Pacific Trade Talks
The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) welcomes the government’s acceptance into negotiations to reach a Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) aimed at reaching a free trade deal with a group of important markets including Australia,…
Vancouver Sawmill Set For Millions Of Dollars In Upgrades
A Vancouver-based manufacturer of wood products has an ambitious plan to operate the largest single line sawmill on the coast of British Columbia. Western Forest Products Inc. plans to invest millions of dollars to upgrade…
Find Us On Social
Newsletter
The monthly Timber Processing Industry Newsletter reaches over 4,000 mill owners and supervisors.
Subscribe/Renew
Timber Processing is delivered 10 times per year to subscribers who represent sawmill ownership, management and supervisory personnel and corporate executives. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.