East Texas landowners and loggers are not seeing a rebound in the timber industry. Last year, forestry officials estimate up to 500 million trees throughout Texas succumbed to the drought, and that's not including those lost to wildfires. Those in the timber business say the industry can generate billions of dollars for the economy, but recently has fallen flat. They say a combination of the housing crisis, drought and wildfires is edging some out of business.

"Everybody's been hurt by at least 50 percent overall," said John Bradley, a landowner in East Texas. "The fuel prices, the expensive equipment, the government regulations and the cost of logging and cost of raising trees is just extremely high. We're in severe trouble."

There are some state agencies that are offering assistance to those in the timber industry. Tuesday, the Texas Forest Service held a drought symposium aimed at getting information and help to land owners and loggers. For more information visit www.txforestservice.tamu.edu.