On Earth Day, April 23, 2013, Governor Rick Snyder called a Forest Products Summit to bring to light the issues and opportunities currently facing the industry. The Governor highlight three questions the industry must address for long-term success: 

• What are the export opportunities?
• What value-added processes are the best?
• What research and development are we doing?

The Governor- appointed Timber Advisort Committee set five working goals to increase the sector’s economic impact:

• Increasing the economic impact of the timber industry on state and regional economies from $14 billion in 2010 to $20 billion by 2018;
• Increasing the export of value-added timber products by 50 percent;
• Increasing forest products-related careers by 10 percent;
• Supporting existing industry; and
• Encouraging regionally based industry development.

For more information on the Summit and complete DNR summit report, click on the resources provided below.