The Crisis Nobody’s Talking About
As hardwood demand struggles and mills close, we’re losing the battle for the next generation—before they even know there’s a fight.
Hardwood lumber demand has declined since the early 2000s. Real prices, adjusted for inflation, sit at 1980s levels. Furniture manufacturing has moved offshore. Over 50 mills have closed in the past 15 months.
But here’s the crisis nobody’s talking about: The students who could solve our workforce shortage have never heard of us.
The silence is killing us
Seasoned professionals are aging out, retiring and taking their industry knowledge with them. But forestry school enrollment has been flat or declining for over a decade. Universities are eliminating forestry from degree titles, hoping Natural Resources Management will attract students who increasingly choose environmental science over our industry. Employers report 97 percent struggle to recruit qualified candidates.
Meanwhile, millions of students care about sustainability, want hands-on careers, and are drowning in college debt—they just don’t know we offer exactly what they’re looking for.
Research shows exposure to forestry in elementary and middle school is one of the most significant factors in whether students consider forestry careers. Yet most young people graduate high school never having met a forester, toured a mill, or learned that wood is renewable.
This isn’t their fault. It’s ours.
The back-to-school opportunity
This August, 1,300 teachers are waiting for Truth About Trees teaching kits. They want to introduce 32,500 eager K-3rd graders to sustainable forestry, teach them about diverse wood products, and inspire their interest in industry careers. But we can’t afford to print the materials without your help.
Each $150 kit reaches up to 250 students with science-based curriculum, flashcards, videos, and hands-on activities that make forest science tangible and exciting. They learn that forestry is sustainable, that wood products are everywhere, and that industry careers exist.
The ROI nobody’s calculating
What does your company spend on workforce development? Finding the right people gets expensive. Recruiting fees run 20-30 percent of first-year salary. Job board postings cost $500+ per position. Trade show booths run $5,000+ to reach people who already know about us. The cost per hire runs into the thousands; now multiply that by the number of positions you need to fill.
Consider investing $150 to reach up to 250 students. Cost per student: 60¢.
Your future workforce, future wood products customers, and future legislators are in those classrooms. Some students will pursue forestry degrees. Some will enter manufacturing. Some will become informed consumers who choose wood over plastic and vote for policies that support our industry.
That’s not charity. That’s strategic workforce investment with a 10-15 year return horizon.
We can’t control globalization or housing market volatility.
But we CAN control whether the next generation knows we exist.
Take action this August
Companies can sponsor kits for their regions ($150/kit, $2,250 for 15, $4,500 for 30), volunteer for Career Day presentations (downloadable on our website), or join our Canopy Club at $12/month (reaches up to 250 students annually).
Industry associations can partner with NAFF to reach members and feature Truth About Trees at conferences.
Together, we can turn this crisis into a WIN—for the next generation and for this industry.
The choice is simple. School starts in August, and 1,300 teachers are waiting.
Sponsor a Kit: northamericanforestfoundation.org/donate
Canopy Club: northamericanforestfoundation.org/canopy-club
Contact: adeford@northamericanforestfoundation.org
We’re fighting for the future of our industry in classrooms—and most of us don’t even know the battle is happening.
