OLD FORGE, NY -- On May 18, 2023, the Northeastern Loggers’ Association recognized Hunter Carbee (deceased) for Outstanding Service to the Forest Industry 2022 at the organization’s annual Loggers’ Banquet in Brewer, Maine.
Hunter Carbee was a beloved member of the forest products community who wore many hats over the years. He passed away in January of 2022 and was posthumously honored with the award.
Carbee grew up in Greenfield, New Hampshire, and started his career working as a logger for D.H. Hardwick of Bennington, New Hampshire. After a near-fatal injury while felling a tree, he went back to school to become a forester and graduated from the Thompson School of Forestry in 1992.
Over the following two decades, Carbee came to know the industry from the bottom up. He was a field forester with Foreco, worked for the New Hampshire Timberland Owners’ Association (NHTOA) as the Program Director, worked in procurement buying biomass for North Country Procurement, and has been recognized for numerous awards including NELA’s Outstanding Contributions to Forest Industry Education award in 2004.
As Steve Bjerklie wrote in an appreciation for Carbee in a March 2022 article for The Northern Logger and Timber Processor, “His support for the industry was unwavering – he gave the sense that, in front of legislators or regulators, he was advocating for more than a particular bill or rule, he was testifying for a way of life and a foundational part of New Hampshire’s history. If anyone could be called ‘Mr. New Hampshire Forest Industry,’ it was Hunter Carbee.”
Jasen Stock, executive director of NHTOA, had worked with Carbee since 2000. “He was an important part of this community’s fabric,” Stock said. “He networked across all facets: landowners, foresters, loggers, mills, and low-grade markets. He was my go-to guy when it came to getting the word out on an issue and motivating people to act.”
The Outstanding Service to the Forest Industry Award goes to someone who has made exemplary contributions to the development of the forest industry from a technical, managerial, or public relations standpoint.
The Northeastern Loggers’ Association, Inc. (NELA) was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Old Forge, New York. The organization has nearly 2,000 members in the region from Maine to Minnesota and Missouri to Maryland. NELA publishes the monthly magazine The Northern Logger & Timber Processor and hosts the annual Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Exposition (Loggers’ Expo). NELA hosts the Annual Awards Banquet every year on the evening prior to the opening of its annual Loggers’ Expo.
NELA serves its membership and the public by advocating for the wise stewardship of our forest resources. The organization develops programs that strengthen the forest products community and help members produce products to meet the needs of the American people.
Learn more about NELA at www.northernlogger.com