Being a forester is the best job in the world. You spend your days in the woods helping trees grow. Being a forester employed by a paper manufacturer is rapidly becoming one of the rarest jobs in the world. I’m proud to wear that hat as well.

I’ve been a forester with Finch Paper of Glens Falls, NY, since 1978, and now serve as a vice president in charge of all forestry operations. When I began my career, most paper companies owned forestland and employed their own foresters. That’s no longer the case. The economics of owning forests and running a paper mill are no longer compatible. Most paper companies have sold their forests and gotten out of the forestry business. Finch Paper has taken a different approach. We sold our 160,000 acres of forest to our friends at The Nature Conservancy, but we kept our entire forestry staff. Today, Finch foresters continue to manage the forests owned by The Nature Conservancy and other forest landowners on a consulting basis.

Our foresters work with these landowners to keep their forests perpetually growing — providing wood for Finch Paper and many other products, a diversity of habitat for wildlife, clean air and water for today and future generations, spectacular scenic and recreational opportunities, and (something that’s too often overlooked) a source of revenue so that those landowners can continue to afford their forests.

Why do it? It’s really quite simple. We have a vested interest in seeing that forests across the country remain as healthy, growing forests for many years to come. Without forests and the renewable resource that grows there, we’re out of business. Some paper companies have chosen to leave all responsibility for forest health to other people. Finch Paper is taking that responsibility itself. We have our feet-in-the-forest every day.