The Hopkinton Library was the site Monday for the third Merrimack County Conversation, Woods to Wood: The Economic Impact of the Forest Industry in Merrimack County and the State of New Hampshire.

As part of the County Conversation, we also toured HHP, Inc., in Henniker earlier in the day, a state-of-the-art hardwood sawmill. HHP, Inc. is the state’s largest hardwood sawmill. It is an integrated forest products company that employs several UNH graduates and includes:

• a hardwood lumber mill producing both kiln-dried and green lumber,
• a pallet manufacturing facility producing custom and standard-size pallets, offering pallet
• sterilization to meet international shipping standards and
• a roundwood chip plant producing paper-quality hardwood and softwoods chips.

HHP, Inc. has received assistance from UNH Cooperative Extension, but more importantly, frequently serves as a host for many Extension-sponsored workshops. Ross D'Elia, president of HHP and a UNH graduate, was on hand to greet us and talk about how the business has grown over the past 20 years.

At the library, State Rep. Christine Hamm provided participants with a tour of the library prior to the County Conversation, which began with Merrimack County Advisory Council Chair Andy Duncan welcoming the group. Those attending included county advisory council members, public officials, representatives from UNH and partnering organizations, and volunteers.

Extension Educator Tim Fleury and Extension Specialist Sarah Smith opened the program, setting the stage by talking about the value of the forest industry to New Hampshire (it contributes over $1 billion in value of shipments to New Hampshire’s economy.) They were followed by Don Quigley, Forest Technology professor, Thompson School of Applied Science, who talked about “what the University is doing for you,” and its value, while Phil Bryce, director, NH Division of Forests and Lands, talked about current use and the economic importance of forestry.

Darrel Covell, Forestry & Wildlife Program Leader, moderated the panel, fielding a lively question and answer session on New Hampshire’s forests, current use and the future of forest land in the state.

To showcase the deep history and connection to New Hampshire’s forests and trees, Sarah invited State Rep. Elizabeth Blanchard to the podium. Rep. Blanchard read a poem her mother had written about a maple cutting board her father made from a tree in their front yard. Her parents ran one of the two Turkey Pond sawmills in Concord that sawed up millions of board feet of timber from the 1938 hurricane. Holding up the maple cutting board, she noted how she had swung from one of the lower branches of the same tree as a child and how the maple board was cut to become a “useful part of a memory.”

Congratulations to all involved in planning and conducting this successful event.

(In the top right photo, UNH President Mark Huddleston is shown with John Pike, Dean of UNH Cooperative Extension, while the bottom left photo shows the audience at the Hopkington Library.)