MINNESOTA (From news reports) -- Area loggers have called an emergency meeting this week to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on the industry, which lost a major customer when the Verso Corp. paper mill in Duluth announced it would indefinitely idle.
It's the third area mill to announce a shutdown or reduction since the COVID-19 pandemic officially reached Minnesota in early March. The UPM Blandin Mill in Grand Rapids announced it would temporarily idle in April, and the Sappi mill in Cloquet instituted revolving layoffs later that month.
The Associated Contract Loggers & Truckers of Minnesota (ACLT) arranged a meeting of its loggers, truckers and federal, state and county land management agencies to discuss the impact of the closure. The meeting is set for 4 p.m. Thursday at the Timberlake Lodge in Grand Rapids.
"The uniqueness of the Verso announcement is that they were the primary, if not only, consumer of spruce and balsam," wrote ACLT Executive Director Scott Dane, in a letter announcing the industry meeting. "Since these species are quite often primary sale species or a component of many mixed species sales, the loss of this market will impact many timber sales and the mills depending on the aspen from these sales."
The timber industry was declared an essential service and allowed to operate under state and federal guidelines, and Dane added they felt the economic impacts would be limited. But that wasn't the case as impacts from end users worked their way up the chain, impacting mills through shutdowns, layoffs, and ceasing of raw material purchases and deliveries.
The ACLT said action is needed to address timber sale prescriptions for spruce and balsam, while taking aspen and other special needs into account. For government agencies, that means deciding on permits, mixed species sales and how to structure future timber permits.
"This creates an immediate emergency situation that must address existing spruce / balsam and mixed species timber permits," Dane wrote. "Hundreds of thousands of dollars is tied up in security payments with public land management agencies."
Verso will be idled by the end of the month and the company's Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. plant by the end of July, with 1,000 total employees losing their jobs, including 253 in Duluth.
The Duluth mill opened in 1987 and was bought by Verso in 2015, according to the Star Tribune, and emerged from bankruptcy in 2016. It paid more than $560,000 in property taxes last year and serves as a major revenue source for Minnesota Power.
Its idling marks another blow to jobs in the Northland region, where about 1,800 miners are out of work on the Iron Range and Duluth-based Essentia Health announced 450 permanent layoffs in the Twin Ports area.
"Decisions to idle facilities are always difficult because they impact employees, their families, and communities," Verso CEO Adam St. John said in a statement. "Verso is committed to treating all of our affected employees with fairness and respect."
