Blandin Forestry

BLANDIN ROADS: OPEN

UPM Blandin Forestry in the USA is responsible for supplying Blandin paper mill with the timber it requires and for sustainable management of the forests owned by UPM in the USA. The forestry unit is based at the mill in the town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. UPM owns and manages over 188,000 acres of forest land making it one of the largest private owners in Minnesota.

UPM buys wood from private, state and company owned land, for use in the Blandin mill. Other pulpwood, saw logs and biomass are sold to others. All of the wood is transported by road. UPM uses a certified tracking system which identifies country, region and forest of origin for all deliveries.

Harvesting is carried out by independent logging contrac­tors. The most commonly used harvesting method is clear-felling and seed tree. The remainder is from various forms of selection harvests and commercial thinning. Approximately half of the wood is cut using cut-to-length Scandinavian harvesters.

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Blandin Forestry has a staff of six foresters, organized into two main functions: Land Management and Wood Procurement. The Forest Ecologist and Land Management Foresters are responsible for the overall management of the company's more than 188,000 acre forest. They determine when and where to harvest timber, build access roads and ensure that the land remains productive. They carefully design timber harvesting plans, specify the season and equipment to be used, and follow up with forest regeneration plans after harvest operations.

UPM buys wood from private, public and company owned land, for use in the Blandin mill. Wood Procurement foresters select and purchase timber to be cut and hauled into the Blandin pulpmill for use in papermaking. They evaluate timber sales offered by all levels of government, private individuals, and UPM lands. Professional loggers are contracted to cut and haul the trees to the mill's scale house, where quality and volumes are recorded.

​Our marketing forester arranges to sell other pulpwood, saw logs and biomass to others. All of the wood is transported by road. UPM uses a certified chain of custody tracking system to identify country, region and forest of origin for all wood deliveries.

Wood from sustainable and legal sources

The legal basis for sustainable forestry in Minnesota combines Federal law (ie. the Endangered Species Act), State law and the Minnesota Voluntary Site-Level Forest Management Guidelines published by the Minnesota Forest Resources Council. The US Departments of Interior (Fish & Wildlife Service) monitors compliance with Endangered Species Act.