**Kuster kicked off her Build Back Better tour in the North Country on Wednesday, meeting with business leaders and local officials to discuss travel, tourism**

**Yesterday, Kuster continued the tour at Pak Solutions in Lancaster, American Performance Polymers in Colebrook**

Errol, N.H. — Today, Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) met with members of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners' Association to discuss conservation on Granite State Working Forests, noticeable effects of climate change on forests and the industry, and their vision and goals for the future.

“Sustainable forestry operations like the one I visited today in Errol are not only a key piece of our rural economy in the Granite State, but also are critical in ensuring that we maintain and preserve working forests and save our planet by sequestering carbon,” said Rep. Kuster. “I’m pleased that Congress was able to secure $200 million for timber harvesters and haulers that experienced a drop in revenue last year, and I look forward to continuing to support our Granite State timber owners as a member of the House Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee.”

As a member of the House Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee, Rep. Kuster is working to bring the voices, concerns, and experiences of NH foresters to Congress. She helped ensure timber haulers and harvesters were included in USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which Kuster helped pass last December, authorized $200 million for timber businesses that have experienced losses due to COVID-19.

Rep. Kuster started off her Build Back Better Tour in the North Country on Wednesday at White Mountains Community College’s (WMCC) Business and Industry Training facility in Littleton, the Woodstock Inn and Brewery to meet with local town officials and business leaders, and New Hampshire Detox in Bethlehem to discuss addiction and substance use treatment, recovery, and support programs. She continued her Build Back Better Tour yesterday at Pak Solutions in Lancaster to learn about their growth, products, and plans for future expansion of facility and workforce, and American Performance Polymers in Colebrook to hear about their planned expansion of manufacturing capabilities for products like nitrile exam gloves, glove box sleeves and parts, and other products such as balloons. 

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