Blandin sunsets its Vital Forests project with many achievements and much still to be done.   7/28/2009 by Richard Thomas

(Photo: One of the Vital Forests projects was to engage 45 representatives of Minnesota’s industry, government and other groups to study forestry techniques in Finland (above), Sweden and Canada.)

In 2003 the Grand Rapids-based Blandin Foundation launched the Vital Forests/Vital Communities initiative. Its goal was to diversify Minnesota’s forest-based economy and promote the long-term ecological health of the forests.

“We were given the big, bold, fat mission of strengthening rural communities,” said Bernadine Joselyn, the foundation’s director of public policy and engagement.

That meant addressing a wide array of complex and touchy subjects: the loss of industry jobs in the region, changing forestry to more environmental practices, and moving the industry from domination by large primary wood product companies— paper, wood chips, lumber, veneer, and plywood—to smaller and more varied businesses.

Describing the program in 2007, Blandin president James Hoolihan said, “Many regions already recognize the opportunities to transform the forest products industry so that it becomes both the producer and processor of diverse and sustainable products. We believe that’s an entirely obtainable goal that is well within our region’s reach.”

In March, the Blandin Foundation board decided to sunset Vital Forests, though many of the goals are still far from obtained.

The program was conceived as temporary from the beginning, with a three to five year timeline. “It’s time to fold the tent,” Joselyn said. “It was modeled to be catalytic and eventually pass the torch.”

She said the organizations best positioned to receive the torch are Minnesota Forest Resources Council and Minnesota Forest Resources Partnership. The former is a mostly governor-appointed council of representatives from business, labor, Native American and conservation groups and government agencies. The latter represents county land departments and entities such as UPM/Blandin and the Minnesota Timber Producers Association.

Vital Forests is now in its sixth year, having taken an extra year to address forest productivity. “We weren’t on lock-step deadlines,” she said.

The project’s most visible accomplishment is the creation of a conservation easement on 188,000 acres of forestlands owned by UPM/Blandin Paper Co. (no longer related to the Blandin Foundation).

At its March 2009 meeting the foundation board granted $7 million towards the easement to leverage another $41 million coming from dozens of local, state and national sources. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will manage the land.

The initiative also funded the development of a curriculum for the Sustainable Forestry Education Cooperative that provides continued education for forest resource professionals through the University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center.

In addition there have been numerous studies, conferences, educational materials and events, including the annual “Good From the Woods” event to promote locally made forest products.

Still the initiative has gotten a mixed reception from environmentalists. While some groups such as Dovetail Partners and the Nature Conservancy have joined the process, the Sierra Club boycotted a 2004 conference.

“The Sierra Club continues to criticize our work, saying it disproportionately represents industry,” Joselyn said. “I’m sorry they haven’t had more of a role, but they’re marginalized.”

Matt Norton of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy attended the 2004 conference. He chaired an action group that recommended the creation of an institute to teach ecological methods to foresters and loggers. But when the proposal went to a general vote, most conference attendees rated the proposal a low priority.

“Enough people were content with the way forestry was performed,” he said. “I am not averse to forest products but there are better ways we can manage the land.”

Norton said the forests today are still managed mainly to satisfy the primary forest product sector. With its shrinking job base, boom-and-bust cycles and profits going to foreign owners, reliance on that sector is not healthy for communities, he said. “Why would we want to compete with countries with more modern pulp and paper mills and lower environmental standards?”

At a 2007 forestry conference in Grand Rapids organized by the Blandin Foundation, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced that he would increase the amount of wood available from public lands in response to mill owners’ requests. “That’s serving the needs of the primary wood industry rather figuring out new ways,” Norton said. “If we were less focused on large volumes of wood we could focus on quality. That’s where the money is and the health.”

Norton said that the governor has failed to support one of the original goals of the Vital Forests/Vital Communities, to shore up the secondary and value-added forest products industry: businesses that make furniture, cabinets, paneling, veneer, flooring, siding, and products from recycled wood.

Joselyn said there has been a “cultural shift” in forestry over recent years to more environmentally friendly methods. Norton “would be gratified to know how much practices have improved,” she said.

As for any lasting accomplishments of the initiative, “It’s early for us to talk about outcomes,” she said. “The real impact won’t show up for some time.”

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