Loggers want more land to make ends meet

HAYWARD, Wis. - Loggers in Wisconsin say the forest products industry can stay above water only if more land and trees are made available.

Fourth-generation logger Max Ericson has new concerns about the rising demand for wood in Wisconsin. He says the price a land owner or manager charges for the right to harvest wood has also risen to about $25 a cord. Ericson recently paid about $250,000 to cut trees on a land in Douglas County.

He says loggers are struggling to supply mills and make ends meet with rising costs. Ericson says there's plenty of forest to cut, the problem is federal management of the land.

U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Hilary Markin tells Wisconsin Public Radio says it's a delicate balance between logging, environmental and recreational uses.