JIM HURST:
SHOVELS OF SOLIDARITY

Jim Hurst is co-owner and managing partner of Owen & Hurst Lumber Company, an independent sawmill in the northwestern Montana town of Eureka. The mill is by far the largest employer in the area. As for so many sawmills in the West, one of the biggest challenges facing Owen & Hurst is securing a reliable supply of affordable raw material. Jim is often doing battle with federal forest managers to keep his friends and neighbors employed.

When the citizens of Jarbidge, Nevada expressed their determination to rebuild a road which the Forest Service had condemned, even if it had to be done with hand shovels, Jim Hurst organized the "Shovels of Solidarity" campaign to provide them with all the shovels they would need. Over 12,000 shovels and thousands of volunteers later, the road was rebuilt, and a significant political protest conducted.

Jim has played a leading role in other events, such as the Missoula Roadless Rally, staged to oppose the past administration's ban on road building on national forests. In May 2001, Jim was on the receiving end, as supporters rallied around Owen & Hurst with the Eureka Log Haul.

Rick Franke of Smurfit-Stone Container sums it up: "More than anyone else, he has rallied people from around the West who share a common concern for the stewardship of our national forests, for their livelihoods, and their way of life."

To read Jim's speech at the Forest Resources Association's 2002 Annual Awards Dinner, please click here.

Phone: 406/297-3114
Fax: 406/296-2334

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