Last week, we painted a picture of the state of the Ozark forests: their history, the threat of mesophication, and how losing our oaks could affect our whole ecosystem.

This week, Roy Pilgrim returns to answer what can we do about it.

In this week's edition:

How loggers play a unique role in forest management.
What global timber demand does to your own backyard.
Who is ultimately responsible for the health of our woods.

Let's get to it.

— Kyle Veit

The Interview

00:00 — Recap of last episode
2:30 — Question from the Holler
10:00 — Do loggers steward the woods well?
20:00 — State of the hardwood industry
34:00 — Timber industry and fear of fire
47:00 — Roy's solution
59:00 — 3-layer forest management
1:17:00 — A little song

🎧 If you like platforms other than YouTube, find The Ozark Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and all the rest.

The Logger’s Paradox

We got a lot of great feedback from our community after our first conversation with Roy. If you missed it, go back and give it a listen.

But I noticed a few negative comments, too, that basically boiled down to this idea:

"What's a logger know about saving the forest? Logging IS the problem."

I get that objection. Loggers make a living by cutting trees down. What would they have to do with protecting them?

But after talking with Roy, here are a few reasons responsible loggers might be our most valuable asset in protecting our forests.

They spend more time in the woods than just about anyone.
They have the equipment and skillset necessary for all three levels of forest management.
They are economically incentivized to make sure the right trees keep growing back.

So the loggers and sawmills might just be the unlikely heroes our forests need. But there aren't many Roys out there, and sawmills around the region are quietly going out of business.

Why is that?

Where Have All The Loggers Gone?

Roy unpacked for us how everything from changing governments and global trade to consumer behavior and affordability have lessened the demand for hardwoods.

China used to buy 58% of domestic-grade hardwood. Now they buy almost none. Plastic, laminate, and MDF have replaced wood in the homes being built today. When demand drops, the sawmill closes, and so does a critical tool for forest management.

As Roy put it: no markets, no management.

And that means the average consumer, the person building a home or doing a remodel, is actually part of the conservation equation. The floor you choose has a real connection to whether this region has the economic infrastructure to manage its own forests.

If I’ve learned anything since doing this show, it’s that everything is connected.

Somebody Ought To Do Something About All That

Let’s recap.

Our hardwood stands of oak and hickory are slowly being replaced by shade tolerant species like maples, beech, and sweetgum—a process called mesophication.

There are two big reasons for that

We removed fire from a landscape that evolved with it for thousands of years ( we covered this in part one).
We stopped actively managing and using these forests—reducing demand for hardwoods—which allowed the canopy to close in and create cooler, wetter, shaded conditions that favor mesophyte species over oak and hickory.

That brings up the question: Who’s ultimately responsible for the health of our woods?

Roy’s answer: anyone with stakes enough to pony up the resources. That includes:

Government Agencies: In addition to managing public land and WMAs, the NRCS and Arkansas Game and Fish both run cost-share programs that pay private landowners to do prescribed burns and timber stand improvement (TSI).
The Timber Industry: A logger can bundle management work like burns and TSI directly into a timber harvest, essentially making stewardship pay for itself.
Land Owners: No one is going to burn your land or do timber stand improvement if you don’t ask them. Landowners have to initiate the process.
Every Ozarker: Even if you never pick up a chainsaw, you can do simple things like educating new neighbors what the smoke from controlled burns is and why it’s important in managing the forests.

Local efforts matter. Maybe we can't move global markets, but we can impact the ones closest to us.

That’s something Roy is actively trying to do.

Roy’s Vision For Pilgrim Logging

Pilgrim Logging, LLC

Roy and his family are building a fully local wood processing facility in Northwest Arkansas. A sawmill, dry kilns, a mill workshop, and a retail front.

The idea: cut the timber locally, process it locally, sell it directly to local builders and homeowners. Market it as responsible forestry and ecological restoration. Cut out the middlemen. Keep the value in the community.

And turn selective timber harvests into an opportunity to perform prescribed burns and timber stand improvement that open up the ground to sunlight and create ideal environment for oak and other hardwoods.

Roy's betting that local economics and forest health don't have to be in conflict.

And after you listen, I bet you might, too.

Listen In

P.S. At the end of the episode, Roy treated us to a fiddle tune. You can jump to that part of the episode here and enjoy more of his fiddle playing as part of The Ozark Highballers.