ANSON – More than 100 representatives of the state’s forestry products industry – loggers, foresters and mill owners – gathered in Anson on Tuesday to discuss the status and future of their industry.

With mill closings dominating the news, leaders said their industry must find a way to change the public’s perspective and show that it is a growing, state-of-the-art industry.

Forestry experts said forestry is no longer a one-person operation but an industry that includes a support staff made up of computer experts, welders and mechanical engineers.

“We are not the industry today that we were even four or five years ago,” said Brody Cousineau, general manager of Cousineau Wood Products. “Our machinery is much more complicated and our employees require much more training. There is a great deal of misconception out there about what types of jobs are available.”

“Every time you pick up a paper, you read about another mill closing,” said Lloyd Ireland, a former state economist and forester. “It’s hard to get a potential work force excited about the wood industry.”

Thom Labrie of Coastal Enterprises Inc. said one of the hindrances to the industry’s image is that it is fragmented, with aspects ranging from lumber to furniture making.

“Within this industry are over 100 organizations nationwide. There are fragmented resources and fragmented political power. When the industry finally comes together as an industry, we will then be able to regain power and viability,” Labrie said.

The Somerset Workforce Development Team, a collaborative partnership of economic development, education, training and work force development, sponsored the daylong workshop. It was held at Cousineau Wood Products in North Anson.

Chris Krauss said 90 percent of Maine’s wood industries are microbusinesses with fewer than 10 employees.

“The misconception is that we are not as important as the big guys,” she said, adding that the success of her member-owned wood furniture shop in Farmington is an example of the value of the wood industry.

“We founded the gallery a year and a half ago with 15 members. We now have 41 and are incorporated,” she said. “In less than a year and a half, we have sold a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of products, and most of our wood came from local suppliers.”

Thomas Doak, director of special projects for the Department of Conservation, said the misperception that Maine is running out of wood is incorrect.

“The future will not be driven by wood supply but rather [by] the infrastructure,” he said. “It is not true that the vast majority of Maine’s woods are owned by major corporations. There are only three to five of them. At least 6 million acres of Maine woods is owned by small landowners. More than one-quarter of Maine people own forestland.

Steve Banahan, sales manager at Moose River Lumber in Jackman, said what all woods companies have in common is the need for skilled labor with a good work ethic.

“These are some of the highest-paid jobs in Maine,” he added.

Doak agreed, saying, “This industry is moving quickly, and flexibility and efficiency are very important. Those skills you have today may not be the skills you need tomorrow.”

Some of the other issues discussed included: health insurance and workers’ compensation reform; international tariffs and their effect on Maine’s lumber prices; and certification of forests as “green,” or environmentally sustainable.

John E. Anthony gave the group some national perspective.

A summer resident on Mount Desert Island, Anthony runs Anthony Timberlands Inc., a forestry business in Hot Springs, Ark.

“I have heard plenty of intelligent discussion here today,” he said. “I want you to know that you are not alone. These same issues are being discussed all across America.”