What reviewers have said about
Reinventing the Forest Industry:

Jacob Schulzinger, Wood Digest, August 1997

"This book realizes we can have a forest products industry and still maintain and nurture our overall environment."

"Her belief that compromise and the development of a new environmental culture are the ultimate answer to the present stalemate is refreshing, practical and highly appealing."

Dan Hays, Statesman Journal, June 1997

"Every American has a stake in the forests…. However, as stakeholders we act like haggling relatives fighting over our forest inheritance."

"As the human family grows, the relatives have become more quarrelsome about dividing the wealth; and, ultimately, the stakeholders have become antagonists, all pulling at the forest industry."

"We need to divert our energies from confrontations to finding solutions to accommodate the needs of all stakeholders."

"Forests take years to grow. If we do not plan now for future demands from the forests, how will we avoid chaos and hardships in the next century, when our population doubles again?"

SERBEP Update, November 1997

"Unless the Industry and business in general becomes more socially responsive, antagonisms will continue to tear at the fabric of society in ever-more damaging ways. Her approach is one of problem solving, and it is based on the principles of sustainable forestry management and social responsibility"

"In this book, Dr. Mater presents a thoughtful and challenging approach to a very difficult social relationship. It is how we work that will define the nature of the Industry as it moves into the next century."

Editorial, Crow's Weekly, March 1997

"Mater's book traces the past 40 years of population growth coupled with a course toward environmental awareness, a flight from cities to forested homesites, increased interest in forest recreation and nature aesthetics, plus new involvement by citizens in policy making. They combine into a picture of the new cultural order that will take all of us, including the timber industry, into the 21st century."

"Mater doesn't see doom ahead for the industry. Her final chapter outlines a cohesive plan for reinventing the forest industry."

Linda Lanham, Daily Journal of Commerce, April 1997

"In a good mystery, you are tempted to go to the back of the book to see how things turn out. If you want to know what reinventing the industry will entail, go to the last two chapters of the book. If you want support for those points and the background on why Mater believes the forest industry needs reinventing, read the rest of the book."

"The 10 principles associated with reinventing the forest industry follow four general themes: 1) The industry must take leadership in sustainable forestry and be stewards of the forest in a way that considers all values and resources; 2) forest segments should be managed to enhance their highest unique attribute instead of managing all forests for all values; 3) intensively grown agroforestry plantations; and 4) the various segments of the forest industry need to recognize their interdependence and organize to speak with one voice."

"The last chapter of the book should be required reading as it concisely summarized the problems and opportunities associated with reinventing the forest industry. The book is easy reading and makes a strong case for the need to continue, enhance, and sharpen efforts like the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, third-party certification, and the principles of the Seventh American Forest Congress. It also provides an excellent base for discussion and action that could move us beyond the current climate of confrontation."

Leonard R. Johnson, University of Idaho, Forest Products Journal, November/December 1997

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