MFPC April-May Newsletter 2019

Help us solve the mystery of Maine Forest Products week

President Dwight Eisenhower proclaims the first National Forest Products Week in 1960.

Can you help solve a 59-year-old mystery? Why has Maine, with one the nation’s oldest forest product industries, only celebrated Forest Products Week twice in the past six decades? And why did the state celebrate in 1984 and 1985?

Since 1960, other states — from Wisconsin to Florida to Oregon — have celebrated National Forest Products Week beginning with the third Sunday in October “with activities and ceremonies designed to focus attention on the importance of our forests and forest products to the Nation’s economy and welfare.”  So why not in Maine? Thanks to librarians across the state, we have some interesting facts and one theory, but perhaps there’s more to discover.  Read more.

 

Alice Skiff is flying high.

This update will brighten your day! 

 

Over the years, SFI Maine has worked hard on many community projects, including building fish-friendly ice shacks to raise money to improve fish passage and providing materials for Habitat for Humanity homes and cabins at Pine Tree Camp for people with disabilities. 

 

Last summer, SFI Maine built Alice Skiff of Newcastle a tiny house that she called her She Shed. Alice designed and dreamed about it during her treatment for brain cancer. Make-A-Wish and the SFI crew surprised her with the She Shed June 25. (See video). Recently Alice’s mom shared this great photo of Alice flying high on the freshman cheerleading squad. Alice also made the honor roll. Congratulations Alice!

 

Girls Scouts eager to learn at Green Me Up Festival

Pat Sirois demonstrates the SFI flume table.

The Girl Scouts of Maine Earth Day celebration, Green ME Up at LL Beans, has been a welcomed and fun day for both the Maine Project Learning Tree (PLT) volunteers and for Pat Sirois, coordinator the Maine SFI Implementation Committee. Thanks to Sarah Medina, a Girl Scout, forester and member of the Maine TREE Foundation Board of Directors and the Maine PLT Steering Committee, the Girl Scouts extended an invitation to us again this year. The event attracts over 1200 Girl Scouts and a wide variety of booths and demonstrations from Maine businesses and small non-profits involved with recreation and alternative forms of energy. Read more.

Another great PLT event: Students tour UMaine

Dr. Lisa Weeks demonstrates a mechanical hand for Delaney Smart, Alexis DeLaite, and Susanna Owens, students at Lee Academy.

We often hear that students in northern Maine may no longer see job opportunities in the forests, with wood and with wood products. If that’s true, it may be because students don’t heard about the wind turbines, bridges, composites, pulp and paper, health and engineering research. Fortunately the PLT statewide network includes outstanding teachers who seek to bring the best of Maine to their students. So two science teachers, Susan Linscott, Lee Academy, and Rowena Harvey, Katahdin High School and Southern Aroostook Community School, took up the invitation for students to tour the labs. Read more.

Thanks! On April 26, FOR/Maine’s Executive Committee held a going-away party for Sarah Curran (above center), program director for the roadmap effort. Curran began work April 22 as senior policy analyst for the Governor’s Office of Policy and Management.

Tick Aware and Tick Alert

Warmer weather is on its way, which means that everyone needs to be doing their part to help prevent tickborne diseases. Providers reported over 1,400 cases of Lyme disease in 2018 (preliminary data as of 3/25/19).

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month each year in Maine-the perfect time to remind everyone to be “Tick Aware and Tick Alert” when spending time outdoors since ticks are most active in warmer weather. Lyme disease is treatable and most individuals recover completely with proper treatment, however easiest way to avoid tickborne diseases is prevention.

This May please remember to be “Tick Aware and Tick Alert.” More information and resources.

About MFPC 

Since 1961, the Maine Forest Products Council has been the voice of Maine’s forest economy. MFPC’s members are landowners, loggers, truckers, paper mills, tree farmers, foresters, lumber processors and the owners of more than 8 million acres of commercial forestland, but they are also bankers, lawyers and insurance executives. The Council represents members at the Maine Legislature and across the state, in Washington D.C. and across the U.S

Patrick Strauch, Executive Director;

Pat Sirois, SFI Coordinator

Sue McCarthy, Office Manager

207-622-9288, www.maineforest.org