This summer marked my one-year anniversary as Executive Director. As I reflect on the past year, one thing is clear: resilience remains one of our greatest strengths. Ours is an industry rooted in hard work, innovation and an unwavering commitment to the communities that depend on Maine’s forests. While this year brought significant challenges, it
Summer 2026 Newsletter Read More »
Author Zachary Bacon is Valmet’s North America Director of Biomass Conversion For more than a century, traditional forestry operations have focused on harvesting whole logs for the pulp and paper, lumber, and timber industries, leaving millions of tons of woody residue on the forest floor. Historically, utilization of this low-value biomass has been limited to
Black Pellet Technology Could Create Major Economic Value Read More »
The University of Maine and its partners have been awarded $20 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to accelerate innovation and commercialization within Maine’s forest products sector. The funding supports the Maine Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub, a statewide consortium focused on transforming low-value wood into high-value bioproducts, advanced building materials, sustainable
Federal Tech Hub Award Accelerates Maine’s Next Generation of Forest Products Read More »
Author Brooke Haley is the Co-Chair of Preti’s Employment Law Group Maine’s new pay transparency law, LD 54 – “An Act to Require Employers to Disclose Pay Ranges and Maintain Records of Employees’ Pay Histories” is the latest in Maine’s history of equal pay protections for employees. Beginning in 1965, Maine enacted its Equal Pay
New Maine Pay Transparency Requirements Read More »
Urge Legislators to Oppose the Majority Report and Support CA-B! Tomorrow morning the Maine Senate will take up LD 19, “An Act to Change the Definition of “Oversized ATV” in the Laws Governing the Registration of All-terrain Vehicles.” LD 19 is coming to the Senate with three committee amendments. Last session, the Senate unanimously supported LD 1308 to pull
LD 19 Action Alert: Ask Legislators to Support Committee Amendment B Read More »
One of MFPC’s highest priority bills for this year is a bond bill to incentivize the entrance of a cross-laminated timber (CLT) manufacturing facility to Maine. The bond bill, LD 798, “An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Fund Mass Timber Manufacturing” was carried over from last session. The Northern Border
Cross Laminated Timber Update Read More »
Good afternoon! On Monday of this week, the Council testified in support of LD 1131, “An Act to Reform the Process by Which a Person May Petition an Agency to Adopt or Modify Rules Under the Maine Administrative Procedure Act.” If enacted, this bill change the number of voter signatures required to petition an agency
Legislative Update – April 4, 2025 Read More »
REWIND 3/30 MFPC Patrick Strauch 1400 Patrick Strauch, Executive Director of the Maine Forest Products Council, joined the George Hale Ric Tyler Show to discuss the recent news out of Old Town.
Pat Strauch on WVOM Read More »
When Regional Forest Ranger Jeff Currier first suggested that the Maine Forest Service explore using drones, he sold the idea with a scenario everyone who works in the woods fears and many have experienced. Driving past or walking through a forest and thinking, “I smell wood smoke.” Tracking that smell is tough, especially when the
MFPC Special Report: How drones are changing forestry Read More »
