This week, October 17-23, is Montana Forest Products Week. Established in 2011, Forest Products Week is dedicated to honoring the forest products industry and extending its appreciation for providing gainful employment and stewardship of our public and private forests. In celebration, Marks Lumber presents “Creating and Managing Healthy Forests,” the second video in our ongoing educational series that highlights the importance of the forest products industry in creating healthy, resilient forests.

In this video, hear from two foresters, John Ottman of Ottman Forestry Consultants and Gary Ellingson of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), as they dive into a brief definition of healthy forests and what it means to have a “mosaic” of different forests. These forestry professionals have dedicated their entire careers to learning and educating citizens, landowners, and the industry on how to best manage the land to promote lasting, healthy forested lands.

As Ellingson states, our goal is to manage the land for “multiple generations, [and] long term sustainability,” and we can not prescribe one single treatment to every stand and assume it’s the correct way to manage all of our forests. Active forest management does not always mean treating the land via prescribed burns or various thinning techniques – but rather examining each given stand and determining the best treatment to ensure resilience and promote a diverse and healthy ecosystem.