LIVE OAK, Fla. - The towering grove of century-old longleaf pines surrounding Roger Ward's family home is a rare site in this verdant swath of north-central Florida - most pines here are cut and processed for profit as soon as their 15-to-18-year growth cycle is complete.

The demand for timber worldwide is booming and this remote section of Florida, along with other timber-growing regions of the southeastern U.S., are benefiting. Dozens of lumber mills and pine straw, bark and wood pellet processing plants have sprung up in north Florida to take advantage of the unique soil composition, lengthy growing season and warm, moist climate in which pine trees thrive.

In a state where undeveloped real estate quickly gives way to neighborhoods, strip malls, hotels or amusement parks, this timber-rich part of Florida is unique.

Ward jokes that the acres of tall pines constituted his college fund and his parents' 401k. The family's fortunes have long been linked to the rise and fall of the timber market.

"This is certainly one of the better times around here for timber," Ward said as he inspected a field of tree saplings on a recent afternoon.

Timber prices are rising as demand grows for timber used in building, paper products and biofuels worldwide. Prices for Florida saw pine peaked around 2005 - before the housing bust and the recession - at $40 a ton, according to Timber Mart-South, a Georgia-based nonprofit organization that tracks the timber industry. Prices fell to $21 a ton in 2011 but are now around $25 a ton and rising.

Thomas Mende, president of U.S. operations for the Austrian-based timber company Klausner, is another person banking on the southeast timber market. Mende's company recently invested $130 million in a new Suwanee County, Florida, timber mill, which ships pine boards to Asia, South America, Europe and beyond.

On the main road outside the mill, a billboard encourages locals to apply for jobs. Klausner currently employs 300 people here and hopes to hire about 50 more.

"What you have here is an ideal location where the trees grow fast, there is political stability, excellent infrastructure and a solid workforce," Mende said from his office, which overlooks acres of processed wood awaiting shipment.

In the American northwest and in Canada, some federal restrictions on foresting, longer growing cycles and problems with wood boring beetles have created supply issues and driven up costs, Mende and other experts said.

"Wood is being rediscovered as environmentally friendly," Mende said.

He points to major building projects, including a 10-story wood building recently built in Australia and a taller wood building in Austria. The buildings use massive wood panels up to 64 feet long and 8 feet wide.

The building trend is one of many factors fueling a steady increase in price of pine, said Sara Baldwin of Timber Mart-South.

"Certainly with the opening of a brand new mill in the middle of that region, I would say Florida pine is experiencing a resurgence," she said.

Nowadays Ward and his fellow Suwanee County farmers are turning to Brian Coble, the region's longtime state forestry manager, for his expertise on nurturing tree saplings to maturity and making sure they make the best use of their land. On a recent morning, Cobble and Ward waded through acres of waist-high saplings, assessing their health.

The fresh smell of dog fennel sprouts, also known as wild chamomile, permeated the muggy mid-morning air as gnats and mosquitos buzzed over the young trees.

Ward and Coble used a tape measure to help count the 31 saplings within a 26.3 foot radius or a 20th of an acre. Coble inspected saplings that weren't thriving to determine if they had bugs or were being smothered by the surrounding vegetation. He advised Ward to mow in some areas and use herbicide in others.

But as has often been the case in Florida, despite the growing demand for timber and rising prices, some in the area think the tree farms will eventually give way to development.

Timber expert Sara Baldwin said development, especially in Florida, frequently wins out over other land uses.

"Trees are not always the highest and best use of land and there are often economic pressures to develop," she said.

But Mende, of the Klausner mill, says trees, at least in the short term, are the region's future.

Ward agreed.

"It comes down to the math," he said. "If trees are the best return on investment available for the land, people will plant trees."

BRISTOL, Fla. — Strewn in gnarled piles from Florida's Gulf Coast up through South Georgia, the livelihood of timber farmers is on the ground. And, after the ravaging buzz saw of Hurricane Michael in early October, it will be a while until they begin to bounce back to prominence.

Michael's path carved though a part of the state where Floridians are most reliant on timber. More than 2.8 million acres of timber were damaged by Michael's powerful 155 mph winds.

Almost 347,000 acres in Bay, Calhoun and Gulf counties — where Michael made landfall — suffered 95 percent damage, categorized as catastrophic in a post-storm report by the Florida Forest Service. That's $1.289 billion in damage to an industry that contributes $25 billion annually to Florida's economy and accounts for 124,000 jobs.

Nestled just inland where the monster storm made landfall as a Category 4 storm, Liberty County is one of four in the state that is classified as critically dependent on the timber industry, where it represents over 20 percent of the workforce, according to a 2017 report by the Florida Forestry Association.

Calhoun is one of seven classified as very dependent, with more than 10 percent of total employment, Franklin and Gadsden are moderately dependent with more than 5 percent of the workforce involved in the industry.

In all, 516,673 acres were damaged in Liberty County. More than 1.04 million acres suffered severe damage in Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson and Liberty counties.

More than 1,600 people in Liberty County work in timber. It makes up half the workforce. In 2016, 518,714 tons were removed from forests there, totaling more than $322 million.

It's a big business and Michael's clear-cutting could continue to hurt people's livelihoods for years to come.

"A lot of people are unable to work. A lot of people have lost their jobs. The logging industry looks like it got turned upside down," said Liberty County Commissioner Jim Johnson after finishing lunch at the Apalachee Restaurant.

"It's just a trickle-down affect that could affect the economy of this county tremendously in the future," he said.

Heading out into the desolation of the Apalachicola National Forest, it's easy to see what Johnson means. Entire stands of towering pines, that once were prime for lumber, poles and pulpwood, are damaged or toppled.

Lumber mills — there are three large-scale operations in Liberty and neighboring Calhoun counties — are inundated with whatever wood can be salvaged.

If the wood is damaged in any way, it loses its market value nearly instantly. That's for two reasons, said Gadsden-Liberty County Forester David Findley.

One, the people that are cutting timber in the wake of the storm are going after large-scale, high dollar hauls and not your everyday growers who may have tracts of less than 100 acres, the majority of the people Findley works with.

Second, trees with broken or damaged fibers aren't appealing from a quality standpoint.

"Most of the timber is going to lay on the ground and not be salvaged," said Findley, who is an agent for the Florida Forest Service. "It's basically a ticking time bomb to where it's not worth it to get it all up. They're trying to cherry pick the good stuff."

Mills in areas hit hard, like in Panama City Beach, Hosford and Blountstown, may not be in operation until the spring or may already be saturated with wood salvaged immediately after the storm, Findley said. That forces people to try and find other places to take their trees in the hopes of salvaging what they still have.

It's a harsh reality for people who may have been banking on their timber for retirement or family investment.

"I've got people crying in the passenger seat saying they're getting ready to retire in the next few years and they don't know what to do anymore," Findley said. "It's salvage what you can. You're going to have 10 years window of no harvesting. We're trying to assist the landowners as best we can, but I don't think there is a silver lining for some of these landowners."

The main focus right now is helping people clean up and replant trees. Findley said there is help through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Emergency Forest Restoration Program.

Pine reforestation in Florida could cost upwards of $240 million and result in job loss for 15 to 20 years down the road.

State Sen. Bill Montford, who himself has a tract of timber land in Liberty County, said the impacts of Michael on the timber industry of North Florida would be felt generationally.

"Cotton, soy and peanuts, you plant the crop and hopefully you have a good return," he said. "Timber takes 20 to 25 years before you begin to have a return on that investment."

People's livelihoods are on the ground. If they're lucky enough to be able to salvage the timber, the price at market is at an all-time low, likely half of what it was pre-storm.

"A lot of timber on the ground is going to the mills for pulp that would have been a far more lucrative product," Montford said. "In a lot of cases you have people who were depending on a small stand of timber for their retirement. They wake up the next morning and its gone.

"They're just about at a panic level. What do we do? How do we deal with this?"

Montford said at the legislative level, there have been discussions with Senate President Bill Galvano who asked lawmakers to devise possible solutions to the financial constraints the storm has put on North Florida.

"We've got $3 billion in reserves for a rainy day. I'm telling him it's raining," Montford said. "The sun is shining but it's raining."

In the long term, more troubling than the downed timber is the impact that disease and insect invasion can have after it moves from easily accessible downed trees to ones that remain healthy.

Piles of souring wood make great habitat for Ips beetles, Southern pine beetles and turpentine beetles.

Findley suggested that landowners not able to get their trees to market begin to remove them from stands or burn them before spring. He also encouraged thinning and good forest management to make the remaining trees as healthy as possible.

Time is of the essence in getting timber off the ground if it is to be salvaged. It doesn't take long for fungi to cause bluing, which makes it less or even undesirable to saw mills.

"What's going to happen in the spring time," he said, "Is those beetles are going to find these stressed out trees and start feeding on them. If it's not stressed, it won't be a good site for them."

By the time Michael moved into South Georgia, it was still a major Category 3 storm. Joe Butler Jr.'s 1,500-acre timber farm appeared to be right in the crosshairs.

It turned out that the trees of Camilla, Ga., were spared the major destruction in neighboring Decatur, Miller and Seminole counties.

But not all of them.

"This is a 175-acre tract and I'm guessing, over all, it's a 25 percent loss in the whole tract," Butler said on a longleaf pine restoration forest field tour in late November. "Near the pecan grove it's more like 60 percent."

Longleaf pines planted 18 years ago are bent sideways, the first planted on the property since Butler's great great grandfather bought it in 1873 with gold. The stressed trees won't be good for much, so Butler is working to clear the land and replant as soon as possible.

"They'll never make poles, they'll never make saw timber, which is the markets that we try to grow for," he said. "It's just not economical to keep them at this stage. Might as well sacrifice 20 years of growth and start over."

The tour, which included officials from the Georgia Forestry Commission, Southern Company, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, several state agencies and local media, was intended to give a glimpse into a growing movement to return the longleaf pine's prominence to its historic range.

Prior to the storm, Butler was negotiating sale prices of $48 a ton for saw timber. Now it's selling for $7 to $11 a ton. The pulpwood market — where trees are ground to make cardboard and other paper products, dipped from about $14 a ton to as little as $2 a ton, not even worth the cost of gas to haul it to the mill.

He'll bring in equipment to clean out damaged trees and burn them. Although Butler manages his land for the timber industry, he is keenly aware of the environmental conservation of animals that call pine forests home.

"That's just more equipment in the woods, more damage, more gopher tortoise burrows that might be damaged, habitat that's taken away that's been groomed for 18 years to benefit the wildlife," he said. "It's devastating from a financial standpoint but also from a conservation standpoint. We have lost several hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sellable timber. At times it makes me want to cry."

Butler's stand is a fraction of the damage recorded across the state. The Peach State sustained damage on 2 million acres of timberland worth close to $762 million. His land is locked in a conservation easement, meaning it can never be sold off and developed. As a money maker, it is useful only as a timber producer.

To help, GFC is looking at producing 500 million extra pine seedlings this year to distribute to Georgia farmers.

Greg Pate with the American Forest Foundation said over the past 10 years his organization has started to look more closely at conservation work surrounding sustainable forestry and bringing back the longleaf pine ecosystem.

Hurricanes often change the timber market.

"The timber market always kind of crashes after a hurricane of this magnitude," Pate said. "Markets always crash, salvage takes place, folks come in like us and federal and state agencies help landowners get forested back and the markets kind of recover."

In some places market and growth turnaround may be quick, but along the southwest corner of Georgia, there is likely a long road to industry recovery.

"Depending on the area, it may be 15 or 20 years before some of those folks can harvest timber again," he said. "In the meantime, we go in there and work with them and say let's make this better than it was, let's try to reforest with longleaf pine if it's acceptable to you."

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Florida’s timber industry suffered $64 million in damages due to Hurricane Idalia’s landfall last month, according to a report published by the state Department of Agriculture on Monday.

The assessment broke down damages into categorizations ranging from catastrophic to light, with data derived from wind speed estimates, modeling, and ground-level observations. The report evaluated six counties within Idalia’s landfall path: Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, and Taylor.

Pine forests bore the brunt of the damage, with catastrophic damage impacting 1,674.27 private acres and causing the loss of 26,553 tons of timber, valued at $669,335.87. Severe damage further compounded financial losses, affecting 93,531 private acres and 2,425 public acres, resulting in the loss of 1 million tons of timber valued at $25.3 million. Moderate damage, while comparatively less severe, still impacted 75,525 private acres and 7,727.01 public acres, leading to the loss of 660,191.63 tons of timber valued at $16.6 million.

Mixed forests containing both pine and hardwood trees, as well as hardwood forests, saw total losses reach 526,485 tons of timber valued at $8.1 million and 756,243 tons valued at $11.7 million, respectively. Cypress forests were found to lose 135,985 tons of timber, valued at $2.2 million

Despite being a relatively dry storm with low precipitation, damage evaluation found that Idalia produced significant storm surge and widespread flooding along the Gulf Coast, resulting in significant damage to mature live oak trees, which are typically considered to be wind-resistant.

“For this part of the state in particular – which relies heavily on the timber industry – more than $64 million worth of damaged timber shows just how devastating Hurricane Idalia was, and this does not take into account any potential future harm or disease that could come to remaining timber stands,” said Commissioner Wilton Simpson. “Due to the decades-long investment between the time of planting to harvesting, these communities will not only need immediate support but also long-term solutions to recover.

A preliminary report conducted by the University of Florida places total estimated agriculture losses to fall between $78 million and $371 million, encompassing damaged crops, livestock, and infrastructure, including irrigation systems and fences. Livestock losses are estimated to be between $30.1 million and $123.4 million, while field and row crop losses range from $30.7 million to $93.6 million. Greenhouse and nursery products also suffered losses ranging from $4.7 million to $68.8 million.

Total estimated insured losses following Idalia’s landfall have swelled to $216.1 million, as of Monday afternoon, with varying percentages of claims closed across different lines of business.

Donna Mary Duggan (nee Shaughnessy) of Kenora, Ontario passed away on Friday September 29th after an inspiring battle with pancreatic cancer.

Donna was born in Ottawa, Ontario on August 12, 1949, to parents Helen and James Harold (Shag) and siblings Diane and Gary. A family of adventurers, the Shaughnessys travelled across Canada living in Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, and eventually putting down roots in Winnipeg. Donna attended Covenant of the Sacred Heart School where she created memories that she shared throughout her life.

The Shaughnessys spent their summers in Kenora where Donna went on to meet Paul. Donna and Paul had an incredible 49-year marriage, filled with love and joy, 3 children, Patrick (Ann), Laurie (Randy) and Jennifer (Michal) and three wonderful grandchildren Alison, James and Huxley. Donna was a loyal, loving and committed wife, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt to numerous nieces and nephews.

Donna made many friendships throughout her career, she worked at Safeway and retired from Firefly. The wild antics and endless love from the “Stitch” ladies enriched Donna’s life for over 40 years and always kept her laughing.

Donna and Paul cherished their time on the water. Creating memories at Coney Island, the Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club, enjoying family time at Longbow Lake and spending their retirement overlooking the pond at Timber Pines in Florida.

Donna was happiest when found with a golf club in hand, sitting at the beach with her family, reading books, or playing card games and backgammon. Donna, the consummate host with a huge heart, made everyone feel welcome. She loved to entertain from hosting impromptu happy hours, to dinner parties and lavish family holiday feasts.

Donna’s infectious positivity and grace will live on in all our hearts. The family would like to express their gratitude to all who supported Donna during her battle with cancer. Your love and care brightened her last 3 years.

Funeral service will be held at Notre Dame Church on Friday October 6th, 2023 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers the family recommends donations to the Lake of the Woods District Hospital Foundation. For those unable to attend, a live stream will be available at https://fweb.tv/109680

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.brownfuneralhomekenora.com for the Duggan (Shaughnessy) family.

The current potential for extreme foul weather has many residents of Leon County concerned about the safety of the trees near their homes. While it is almost inconceivable to imagine the area without these important plants, in the wrong circumstance, they can be quite hazardous.

While any debilitated or unhealthy tree has a high risk factor, many native shallow rooted species are on the list of what inevitably falls during storm events. Laurel and water oaks are notorious for being on the top of the problematic list.

One durable, deep rooted native genus that is usually one of the last standing after stormy weather is the pine. Its sturdy structure is one of its many useful features.

Pines offered a variety of potential enterprises for industrious settlers and those who followed. These common trees are rarely appreciated and often overlooked today for their true resource status.

Arguably, the stateliest local pine is the longleaf. It is capable of reaching 80 to 125 feet in height with a 30- to 40-foot-branch spread.

A distinctive characteristic of this beautiful tree is the new growth clusters at its branch, end which is silvery white during the winter. These buds are commonly called candles, and it requires little imagination from the viewer to see the similarity.

Longleaf pines stay in a tufted, grass-like stage for five to seven years after germinating. They grow slowly in this phase while developing a root system.

Once the root system is firmly established, the growth accelerates. The bright evergreen needles may extend up to 14 inches and are very flexible, giving a weeping effect to the tree.

Flowers are inconspicuous and occur in spring, along with abundant pollen. The dusty yellow pollen covers vehicles, lawn furniture and about everything else outside.

Soon large, spiny cones follow and may remain on the tree for several years. Birds and animals use the seed within the fallen cones as a food source.

The timber from longleaf pines has a reputation for strength and excellent grain quality. The resinous heartwood is especially durable and is found as flooring in many older homes.

In addition, the sap has historically been a valuable commodity. Its many applications included being a component for waterproofing wooden ships and as the base product for turpentine. The longleaf was sometime called the turpentine pine.

The slash pine is another large, stately, heavily-branched, long-needled conifer native to Panhandle Florida It is capable of rapid growth and has the potential of reaching 100 feet in height with a three- to four-foot-diameter trunk.

The six-inch-long cones appear among the dark green, eight-inch-long needles, and are favored by wildlife. Squirrels are particularly fond of the seeds, scattering the cone debris below.

Slash pines self-prune their lower branches, forming an open, rounded canopy that creates a light, dappled shade beneath. The gray-brown bark is deeply furrowed and scaly.

The filtered light allows just enough sun to reach understory plants that grow beneath this tall, evergreen tree. This high, shifting shade provides an opportunity for wildlife habitat in the undergrowth.

Healthy pines typically have deep roots except in poorly-drained soil. Once established, slash pines are more tolerant of wet sites than most other pines and are moderately salt-tolerant.

Pines grow well on a variety of acidic soils in full sun or partial shade. The tap root is prominent in well-drained soils and can make young trees difficult to transplant from the wild.

While pines go largely unnoticed, they are still an integral part of modern life. Pines produce timber for structures, pine needles and bark for mulch, pulp for paper and many other products for commercial uses.

They also are excellent for home landscapes. Many residents of the Tallahassee area should consider them when selecting a tree for their home site. While not a visually striking exotic, they have numerous positive features. And do not forget their deep roots, both historically and literally.

To learn more about pines in the Leon County region, contact the nearest UF/IFAS County Extension Office or visit sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu. To read more stories by Les Harrison visit Outdoorauthor.com.

Les Harrison is a UF/IFAS Wakulla County Extension Agent Emeritus.