Report on FRA Accomplishments for Calendar Year 2015

The Forest Resources Association promotes the interest of forest products industry members in the economical, efficient, and sustainable use of forest resources to meet the needs of the wood fiber supply chain through private enterprise. This Report surveys our work in support of this Mission during the past year.

Building Public Policy EngagementFRA develops and implements means to defend and enhance the wood supply chain’s operating environment through public policy intervention.

During 2015, FRA’s advocacy achieved effective resolution on:

• Obtaining 4(d) Rule mitigation of Northern Long-Eared Bat listing • Compelling Agencies to resume H-2B visa processing • Blocking most onerous terms of new H-2B rules through September 2016 • Ensuring CSA “BASIC” scores no fault of driver are withheld from public access,

pending study • Providing expedited CDL processing for qualified armed forces veterans • Enactment of a pilot program to study permitting younger truck drivers in

interstate commerce • Harmonization of

federal, state truck weight rules on priority Interstate segments in WI, MN, ID

• Obtaining permanent adoption of terms of ME/VT truck weight “pilot” project

• Setting robust criteria for lifting suspension of Hours-Of-Service Restart restrictions

FRA members were key to FRA’s advocacy success through grassroots and Fly-In participation. Members sent 2,344 messages to Congress, responding to 10 FRA appeals, addressing the following priorities:

• Making Truck Weight Reform a Highway Bill Priority • Supporting the Safe Trucking Act • Building Co-Sponsorship for the Safe Trucking Act • Supporting an Amendment to include the Safe Trucking Act in the Highway Bill • Requesting Congressional Endorsements for a “Carbon Neutrality” Letter • Voting to Retain HOS-Restart Suspension in Appropriations Bill

• Telling Department of Labor to Resume Processing H-2B Guestworker Certifications • Telling Department of Homeland Security that New H-2B Interim Final Rule Must Not Burden

Seasonal Employers • Supporting H-2B Guestworker Visa Program Reform • Supporting a Strengthened H-2B Program in Appropriations Action

FRA’s October 8 Fly-In to Washington, DC drew 50 members to the nation’s capital for a full day of advocacy, completing 67 Congressional office visits, including 40 meetings with actual members of Congress. Issues selected for advocacy included:

• Truck Weight Reform • Improving the H-2B Guestworker program • Easing young people’s entry into the logging and trucking workforce • Pushing back against Overregulation, specifically with respect to the Northern Long-Eared Bat, Waters of the

United States, and the Clean Power Plan’s position on Carbon Neutrality

Looking ahead to 2016, priorities include:

• Following up on state-level victories on truck-weight reform to set the stage for nationwide reform • Extending, or making permanent, favorable FY2016 H-2B visa terms, and resolving dispute over H-2B

employers’ obligation with respect to worker housing • Developing next steps with respect to the Northern Long-Eared Bat 4(d) Rule • Replacing EPA’s existing WOTUS rule with something workable • Obtaining affirmation of the principle of Carbon Neutrality within the Clean Power Plan • Countering anticipated Department of Labor challenges to the right to contract freely

FRA joins AF&PA, NAFO, and AWC in supporting the Biomass101 project, a high-level PR outreach campaign run by CounterPoint Strategies to confront media errors or distortions of the scientific case for Carbon Neutrality, relative to bio-energy policy. FRA also works with other members of the H-2B Workforce Coalition to guide a robust media outreach campaign to support a centrist position on the H-2B guestworker program and to provide cover for legislative allies. FRA keeps members informed of the political landscape and policy developments through timely Issue Update reports and uses Facebook and Twitter in building momentum in advocacy.

Among Region-level Actions: On April 28, FRA was represented at a Lake States meeting called by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to discuss potential forest operations impacts of the proposed Interim Final 4(d) Rule associated with the Northern Long-Eared Bat “threatened” listing; the Region also addressed the effects of regulations on landowners, mills, and suppliers. FRA published Technical Release 15-R-16, Arkansas Forestry Association’s Legislator Posters, highlighting a state-level program to build the visibility of the forestry interest with lawmakers. The Northeast Region’s Forestry Forums addressed Maine Forest Industry and Public Policy—What’s Happening in the Legislature, and What Will It Mean in the Woods? as well as information sessions about Maine’s timber harvesting tax and new OSHA rules.

Enhancing Supply Chain RelationsFRA promotes development of a competitive framework within which members may implement supply chain efficiency improvements and create profit opportunities throughout the supply chain.

FRA provides venues to publicize the work of the Wood Supply Research Institute, cataloguing information about current and past studies on www.wsri.org. WSRI will report results of two pending projects at its May 4 Annual Meeting, immediately preceding FRA’s Annual Meeting:

• Logging and Trucking Total Compensation Comparison Index • Factors Affecting Delivery Time from the Stump to the Mill & Return

FRA’s 2015 Annual Meeting featured a forum of four panelists addressing “Supply Chain Stresses and Opportunities.”

FRA formed a liaison with the National Association of Manufacturing’s non-profit Manufacturing Institute to share best practices for growing the logging and forestry workforce, while highlighting the Alabama Forestry Association’s growing Workforce Development Initiative, by means of a joint presentation at FRA’s October 9 Board Meeting. At the same session the American Trucking Associations presented a “Motor Carrier and Truck Driver Update,” characterizing the driver shortage and potential solutions. On July 28, FRA joined other organizations in launching the TEAM Log/Chip Truck project, which seeks a multilateral approach to improving the safety and cost-effectiveness of forest products trucking, and continues to build support for the project.

The February Forest Operations Review published a feature article, “Listen! Be Flexible,” summarizing views of four loggers and three wood procurement managers on what makes an ideal wood procurement policy. The May 2016 issue published a feature, “Adaptation and Collaboration: A Western Lumber Business Confronts Timber Withdrawal,” describing a collaboration among interests to reconcile wood supply and conservation objectives on federal lands in eastern Washington.

The following Technical Releases published during 2015 touch on relationship issues and logging capacity recovery:

• “SWAT”: Northeast Workshop to Strengthen Logging Businesses (15-R-3) • Wood Markets Workshop for Loggers and Foresters (15-R-5) • Employment of Minors in Logger: FLSA Overview (15-R-8) • Forest Equipment Operator (FOROP) Training School (15-R-14) • Louisiana’s Timber Harvesting Equipment Operator (THEO) Training Program (15-R-15) • Hunting/Logging Safety Cooperation (15-R-17)

Among Region-Level Actions: FRA’s Appalachian, Southeastern, and Southcentral Region meetings all addressed the themes of “Forestry and Logging Workforce Development” and “Addressing Logging and Trucking Capacity Challenges,” sharing information about trends in logger training, industrial forestry education, and specific state initiatives; both the Appalachian and Southcentral Regions devoted sessions to the SFI Forest Partners® Program; in addition, the Southcentral Region focused on the history and potential future of supply chain management in the Region. The Lake States Region’s Fall Meeting theme, “Strive for the Future – a Collaborative Approach,” entailed developing and reviewing opportunities for all supply chain members to improve the supply chain’s effectiveness. The Northeast Region’s Forestry Forums addressed forestry machine operator training in Maine, as well as metrics on private landowner satisfaction following harvest. The Western Region focused on collaborative approaches to chip-quality improvement and improving organizational/employee management.

FRA facilitated Supplier/Consumer Relationships Workshops in Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as a Workshop bringing Wisconsin DNR personnel together with industry foresters in the state to improve relations and develop means for resolving conflicts. FRA also conducted an Independent Contractor Relationships Workshop for an Arkansas wood-consuming mill’s staff. FRA will moderate its Supplier/Consumer Relationships Workshop for any member requesting one.

Addressing Forest Operations ChallengesFRA provides education about, evaluation of, and promotion of methods, technologies, and equipment to increase the efficiency and safety of wood supply chain management. Priorities for action detailed in the Strategic Plan include trucking efficiency, improving mill and in-woods turn time, streamlining woodyard processes, and enhancing planning and communication.

Among the 28 Technical Releases FRA published during 2015, the following focus specifically on operational improvement, quality control, and safety:

• Dash Cameras Can Improve Safety and Reduce Liability (15-R-1) • Top Five Causes of Forestry Equipment Fires (15-R-2)

• AEM Equipment Safety Manuals Provide Effective Guidance (15-R-4) • Phelps Backrake for Unloading Bark and Biomass (15-R-6) • Automatic Tensioner Keeps Load Binder Straps Tight (15-R-7) • Add-On Bracket for Transporting Slasher Saw on Loader Trailer (15-R-9) • Strength Parameters of Lumber Sawn from Loblolly Pine Plantations in Georgia’s Coastal Plain (15-R-10) • NFC Vibrating Bumpers (15-R-11) • Managing Chip Pile Inventories (15-R-12) • Assessment of Virginia’s Commercial Wood Supply (15-R-13) • Chip Trailer Loop Rail Protects Driver on Ladder (15-R-18) • Use of Wooden Mats to Increase Timber Availability (15-R-19) • Keeping Fuel Consumption Data on a Logging Operation (15-R-20) • Fuel Consumption Rates for Treelength Harvesting Systems in the

Coastal Plain (15-R-22) • Fuel Consumption on Logging Operations (15-R-23) • On-Board Truck Technology (15-R-24) • Using Logging Machine Telematics (15-R-25) • Use of Remote Camera to Monitor Rail Siding (15-R-26) • CPM Mobile: Bridging the Technology Gap Between Field and

Office (15-R-27) • Drone Aids Logging Efficiency (15-R-28)

FRA published 13 Safety Alerts during 2015.

The feature article in the August Forest Operations Review presented residual chip quality improvement recommendations.

FRA’s two Southern regions held a joint Forest Products Security Group meeting in October, with presentations on zone jumping, use of video surveillance, scalehouse security, and individual incident case histories, as well as security updates from state forestry agencies.

National Meeting Sessions enabled information-sharing among Regions to identify common stresses and priorities for action. Among top cross-regional concerns noted were trucking capacity (and transportation infrastructure), attracting new logging personnel, new regulatory burdens, and the challenge of obtaining financing for logging business expansion. Presentations also addressed timber supply and demand assessment, overseas pellet demand projections, logging machine telematics, and genetics research.

Among Region-Level Actions: FRA’s Western Region addressed on-board truck-fleet technologies, chip quality-control technologies, and a range of international and product-focused market-trend information. Region continues to compile fiber and biomass inventory and consumption summaries on a monthly basis. The Northeast focused on spruce budworm management, climate change projections, and efficiency benchmarking. Lake States sessions considered the effect of harvesting restrictions on timber availability and the spread of the emerald ash borer, as well as Northern Long-Eared Bat protection measures. The Southeast addressed fiber trucking challenges, including an examination of the DOT Truck Size & Weight Study’s implications, as well as predictions of near-term industry development in the Region, while the Southcentral Region also focused on trucking challenges, as well as trends in forestry education. The Appalachian Region considered the impacts of the growth in bio-energy production, forestry workforce education, and – also – regional trucking challenges.

FOREST RESOURCES ASSOCIATION INC.1901 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 303 • Washington, DC 20006Phone: 202-296-3937 • Fax: 202-296-0562 • www.forestresources.org