Fall 2000 Volume 9, Number 3
We're Looking For Pine In Southern Indiana
MEAD PAPER
The Mead Corporation, a forest products company with $3.8 billion in annual sales, is one of the leading North American producers of coated paper, specialty paper, coated paper-board and consumer and office supplies, a world leader in multiple packaging and high-quality producer of corrugating medium. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, Mead employs more than 16,000 globally with offices and operations in 32 countries.
Mead Paper, a division of The Mead Corporation, specializes in the production and distribution of coated printing and carbon-less paper products. The Chillicothe, Ohio mill has been an active and influential presence in the community since 1890. Today, the complex encompasses over 800 acres, employing approximately 2,200 people. Around 1,200,000 tons of hardwood and pine are needed annually to support the mill, of which pine makes up approximately 25% of the usage. Therefore, Indiana is important to our future, especially in pine procurement.
Mead Paper is one of the largest private landowners in the state of Ohio with more than 140,000 acres. Our acreage consists of timberlands for harvesting, forests for natural resource renewal, protected fish and wildlife habitats and historical sites. None of our timberlands are considered rainforests or old-growth timber stands.
As a member of the American Forest & Paper Association, committed to their Sustainable Forestry Initiative, our sustainable forestry practices demonstrate our longstanding commitment to protect the environment and conserve natural resources. For example, in 1999, Mead foresters planted 355,000 tree seedlings on 382 acres in Ohio, In addition, we donated more than 700,000 pine tree seedlings to private landowners for tree planting on their farmland.
As part of Mead's Forest Management Assistance (FMA) pro-gram, our foresters manage 35,000 acres of private forestland-owned by about 100 different landowners. The FMA program provides private landowners with assistance and education in the management of their forestland, helping them to harvest wood products without compromising the long-term health of the forest. Mead's land stewardship ethic goes beyond growing and harvesting trees. We are also committed to the protection of soil and water quality, wildlife and fish habitats and aesthetics. Mead has set aside certain areas on our land from normal forest management to be enjoyed by the general public. About 4800 acres are harvested from timberlands owned by private landowners and the state, providing around 34% of the mill's requirement. Mead uses a wide range of cutting methods from clearcutting to single tree selection depending on the condition of the forest and the management objectives of the forest stand.
With an addition of a rail siding at our Chillicothe mill, the procurement of pine has now been extended to outlying areas. This should allow landowners that own pine in areas without a market, a chance to sell their product. If you wish to talk with a forester about selling your pine, contact Mead Woodlands at 1-888-609-TREE (8733) and ask for Mike Gaus, Indiana forester, or Roger Weaver, West District Supervisor.