A s s o c iat i o n s
By Tracy Barbour
The Ketchikan-based association works to advance the restoration, promotion and maintenance of a healthy, viable forest products industry, contributing to the economic and ecological health in Alaska’s forests and communities.
Alaska Forest Association Supporting Alaska’s timber industry
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Photos by Owen Graham
T
he Alaska Forest Association has a distinct mission closely connected to the viability of the state’s forest-products industry. The Ketchikan-based association works to advance the restoration, promotion and maintenance of a healthy, viable forest products industry, contributing to the economic and ecological health in Alaska’s forests and communities. The AFA has a long-standing history in the state. It was formed March 6, 1956, by a select group of individuals who wanted to establish an association for Alaska loggers. The group opted to affiliate with the Timber Operators Association and selected the name S.E. Division of Timber Operators Association. During its first year in existence, the association developed a workers’ compensation program and hired a safety engineer. In 1957, the group withdrew from the Timber Operators Association and formed the Alaska Loggers Association. Over the years, the association has expanded its scope beyond loggers to include a broader membership. In 1991, the organization was appropriately renamed the Alaska Forest Association. The AFA engages in a wide range of initiatives to support the Alaska timber industry and its 115 regular and associate members. This includes maintaining an active public information program, a group health insurance program (the Tongass Timber Trust) and a pension program, which has evolved considerably over the years. In 2003, the association froze its defined benefit plan because the declining industry could no longer meet the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation requirements, accord-
Alaska Forest Association Executive Director Owen Graham at Prince of Wales Island. The AFA works to grow the state’s forest industry.
ing to AFA Executive Director Owen Graham. A new plan has since emerged. “We allowed participants to continue to vest in the old plan, and we started a defined contribution plan,” Graham explains. “By January 2008, the new plan had accumulated sufficient funds to add a 401(k) feature. Currently, all regular AFA members are eligible to participate in the plan.”
Key Concerns: Sustainability and Supply
The AFA also sponsors the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program in Alaska. Under the program, the association supports responsible timber management by all timberland owners in the state. It also addresses permitting, safety and other matters, and sponsors a Timber Issues Committee that meets
www.akbizmag.com • Alaska Business Monthly • March 2011