Closure of Practiv Evergreen Paper Mill in Canton, NC, to Negatively Impact Area Forests

The recently announced closure of Practiv Evergreen’s Canton, North Carolina, paper mill is not only a major loss for its 1,100 employees and a jolt to the area’s economy, but the ripple effects also make it very difficult news for sustainable forestry in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

Andrew Tait, Co-Executive/Forestry Director with EcoForesters, a nonprofit professional forestry organization, explained in an article for The Mountaineer (5-24-23) that for more than a century, timber harvests to supply forest products in Southern Appalachia have shaped and created the forests we see today. The registered forester also expects the pending closure of the paper mill in Canton will shape the future of the region’s forests.

Tait points out in the article that while historically some of the supply-chain demand necessary to support these industries negatively impacted overall forest health, the paper mill’s use of only low-grade and small diameter wood created opportunities for sustainable and beneficial forest management. The closure of the paper mill will severely impact and reduce the demand for pulpwood, which comes from small diameter (12” or less) or poorly formed trees.

A sustainable timber harvest usually has to remove lower quality trees to let in enough sun so that a young stand of new trees can grow vigorously and compete in good conditions to develop into a healthy future forest, Tait explained. With no market for low quality trees, these less well adapted trees will now be left even more frequently and will become our future forests.