Maine’s four federal lawmakers are backing a bill that would create a disaster relief fund for the logging industry similar to those available to fishermen and farmers when they are impacted by a natural disaster.

Logging businesses that face at least a 10% loss in revenue compared to the prior year because of natural disasters would be eligible for relief under the proposal. High winds, fire, flooding, insect infestation and drought are just some of the disasters that would apply.

The Loggers Economic Assistance and Relief Act would create a new program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would be able to distribute up to $50 million dollars.

Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced the bipartisan bill. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, are co-sponsoring it.

Maine’s logging industry lost $2.6 million in December 2023 when severe storms hit the state, according to a joint statement from the delegation. More than 90% of the state’s industry suffered damage to equipment or logistics during that storm.

Maine’s economy lost a total of $5.5 million that winter from the hit to logging revenue and productivity, according to the joint statement.

“You can’t write the story of Maine without loggers,” Golden said in a written statement Wednesday, later adding: “There must be a safety net to ensure one particularly bad season cannot uproot logging families and communities.”

Collins said the recent storms have seriously impacted loggers, who “are at the heart” of Maine’s forest products industry.

“This bipartisan bill would provide targeted financial assistance to help loggers recover from federally declared disasters so that they can continue their important work, sustain rural communities and contribute to our state’s economy,” Collins said.

King credited the logging industry for “powering our state’s economy” for generations and declared that “it is so important to protect and sustain this historic industry.”

“The logging industry has supported rural Maine families and communities for hundreds of years, and it’s imperative that investments in our foresting community evolve for today’s challenges as we protect it for a sturdy future,” King said.

Pingree, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, described the bill as “commonsense.”

“As Maine experiences more extreme weather events and natural disasters, it’s imperative that we protect our state’s loggers from potentially devastating financial impacts — just as we’ve long done for our fishermen and farmers,” Pingree said.

Many stakeholders from Maine and New England voiced their support for the bill in a joint announcement from the members of Congress.

Marc Greaney, president of Western Maine Timberlands in Fryeburg, said severe weather is limiting his business’s productivity more frequently and for longer periods.

“When we can’t cut and move wood we don’t get paid, and this is happening at the same time that operating costs are continuing to rise,” Greaney said.

Chuck Ames, president of SDR Logging in Sebec, said most of the logging industry is struggling.

“All they ask for is a level playing field with other industries,” he said. “I believe this legislation is a step in the right direction toward treating loggers the same as farmers and fishermen. We are all harvesting natural resources, and are all impacted by natural disasters.”