Forest industry sector: A panel discussion.

This panel discussion focused broadly on the forest industry sector and how forest management and research on public lands is important to the forest industry sector. Panel members provided different perspectives from the forest industry sector and highlighted some key market topics for the forest industry. The panel addressed opportunities and challenges that the USDA Forest Service will face to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration while providing forest products for the forest industry sector. The panel discussed four themes including: (1) forest market updates and wood product innovations; (2) private landowner perspectives; (3) forest industry perspectives on the forestry sector; and (4) partnerships between the Forest Service and wood products industry and private forests including the use of various contracting mechanisms such as stewardship contracts and Good Neighbor Authority. The panel included four members who addressed the four subthemes. This moderated 1-hour panel began with each panelist providing a 5-minute introduction followed by a series of questions about the forest industry sector, forest products, and forest services that come from Forest Service and private and publicly managed lands. Overall, this panel provided different perspectives on the connection among forest management, research, and the forest industry sector.