| State of timber: Tracing history of an industry in decline
Editor's note: Over the past three decades, the national forest timber harvest has crashed. Some blame environmental regulation. Others blame overharvest in the 1970s and 1980s. Still others point to supply-and-demand economics, and an emergent international import-export lumber business. But most agree the U.S. Forest Service's Northern Region - where harvest has been reduced from 1.2 billion board feet to just 114 million - could produce far more logs if the market would bear them. How to get at that timber, however, remains a point of considerable controversy. Today, the Missoulian begins a four-day series looking at timber cutting in western Montana.KALISPELL - About a month ago, a brand-new Bitterroot Valley-based group rallied up in Hamilton, calling for more trees to be cut from national forests.A whole lot of people turned out.
Experts Give Advice On Vehicle Emergency Kits
MADISON, Wis. -- After hundreds of drivers were stranded on Interstate 39-90 during Wednesday's snowstorm, WISC-TV's Teri Barr teamed up with Consumer Reports to find out what motorists should have in their vehicle emergency kits while traveling. TALKBACK: What Do You Think? There are certain essentials that could make a difference in an accident or weather-related situations, and Consumer Reports gave some suggestions. Consumer Reports said that people should pack flares of hazard triangles to give others warning and to help avoid more crashes. They also recommended a first aid kit and jumper cables to get a charge from another car if the battery dies. Experts said that other useful items that can be added to an emergency kit include: an extinguisher for any small fires; a foam tire sealer for the quick fix of a flat; gloves to keep hands clean and warm; and a flashlight for nighttime incidents.
Genzyme comes up with cure
Genzyme Corp., one of the state's largest biotech companies, said it has resolved a sticky problem with Framingham's sewage system, allowing the Cambridge company to go ahead with plans to build a $260 million drug manufacturing plant there. The biotech warned late last year that it might be forced to build the plant in another town or state, because Framingham's aging sewage and water system would not be able to handle the added load from Genzyme's facility without a $12.9 million upgrade. Though Framingham and Massachusetts officials both promised to work to secure state funding for the project, company executives said they couldn't afford to wait much longer for the state to make a commitment. And even if the funding eventually came through, Genzyme managers fretted the sewage project wouldn't be finished by the time the manufacturing plant was ready to open in 2010, prompting them to begin considering alternative sites.
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