Lumber production hits decade low, even with weak dollar boosting exports

Portland Business Journal, September 19, 2008---Thanks to the flagging housing market, lumber production at Western sawmills in 2007 plummeted to the lowest annual volume in more than a decade.

 

Data released Thursday by the Portland-based Western Wood Products Association show that mills in 12 Western states produced 16.32 billion board feet of softwood lumber in 2007, down 9.3 percent from the previous year.

 

Since reaching an all-time record of 64.3 billion board feet in 2005, lumber demand has dropped by 12 billion board feet — equivalent to the annual production in Oregon, Washington and California.

 

...the article doesn't mention exports, but this earlier story did...the US is both an importer and exporter of lumber...

Northwest lumber exports jump from weaker dollar

 

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle), May 23, 2008 -- The weak dollar and soft U.S. housing market are strengthening Northwest lumber exports.

In contrast, slow U.S. housing starts and the falling demand for structural wood are throttling Northwest lumber mills, with many of them closing or curtailing operations.

The weak dollar helps U.S. lumber exports become more competitive against lumber from other sources, because the U.S. lumber costs less.

 

These are excerpts. Follow the links to the full stories.

Compost from wood

Dr. Henry has done research and consulting on the use of compost created from chipping of trees that have been thinned for the purposes of fuels reduction and forest health.

 

 “To Waste or Not to Waste”

Dr. Chuck Henry, a University of Washington lecturer and environmental engineer specializing in soils and sustainability, will be speaking in the Barn at Barn Beach Reserve [in Leavenworth] on Friday, September 19 at 7 pm about waste reduction, recycling, composting and resource conservation. This program will be of interest to anyone concerned about the patchwork of recycling programs in the Wenatchee Valley, the impact of the municipal burn ban; managing your yard waste, the challenge of forest land fuel reduction; or clean air and clear skies.

 

 

For more information:

 

Jeff Parsons

Executive Director

Barn Beach Trust

Mailing address:  PO Box 2073

Leavenworth, Washington  98826

Location: 347 Division, Leavenworth, WA

Business Phone:  (509) 548-0181

Mobile Phone:  (509) 264-4905

Web Site:  www.barnbeachreserve.org

 

Wildfire TV special "In the Line of Duty" from DNR

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) aired a 30-minute television special, In the Line of Duty, which takes viewers on a journey into the charred aftermath of a wildfire start. This television special joins a DNR wildfire investigator as he follows up on an earlier 911 call. DNR investigates wildland fires to locate and understand the point of origin, cause, and, when necessary, locate and identify the person(s) responsible.

The show will be available to fire prevention staff for fire prevention outreach and education.

Most human-caused fire starts are unintentional and caused by carelessness. In Washington State, debris burning is the leading human-caused source of wildfire starts, followed by recreation-related causes. DNR issues citations with fines when it determines a fire was caused by negligence.

“In the Line of Duty” aired on Northwest Cable News Sunday, September 7 and KXLY & KXMN Spokane / Coeur d’Alene Sunday, September 14

For more information on burning, go to DNR’s website at www.dnr.wa.gov. Click on ‘Fire Information & Prevention’ and go to ‘Wildfire Related Maps’ or call 800-323-BURN. For tips on how to reduce the risk of wildfire to communities, homes and families, log on to www.firewise.org. 

DNR is responsible for preventing and fighting wildfires on 12.7 million acres of private and state-owned forestland. DNR is the state’s largest on-call fire department, with hundreds of people trained and available to be dispatched to fires when needed. During fire season, this includes several hundred DNR employees who have other permanent jobs with the agency, about 375 seasonal workers, and about 500 Department of Corrections’ inmates who also participate in suppressing wildfires. DNR also participates in Washington’s interagency approach to wildland firefighting and relies on private sector contractors for certain firefighting resources.      

 

Class in Milling & Manufacturing for FSC Markets

Our forest is certified sustainable by "the other FSC," namely ATFS (American Tree Farm System from American Forest Foundation). Green building is catching on in the NW. There's not a FSC or ATFS mill anywhere near our land, but this market could make sense for some timberland owners -- even getting into small-scale milling as a family operation. Here's a copy of the invitation from NW Natural Resource Group:

 

Date: Sept. 17, 2008

Time: 1:00 – 5:00

Location: Tumwater, WA

For more info. and to register, 360-379-9421 or visit: http://www.nnrg.org/news-events/events/9-17-milling-manufacturing-for-fsc-markets/

 

 

You’re invited to attend:

 

Milling & Manufacturing for FSC Markets

A primer for wood manufacturing businesses

 

Date: Wednesday, Sept. 17^th, 2008

Tumwater, WA

 

Seminar description:

Demand for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood products is quickly growing in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the country. Driven primarily by the residential and commercial green building industry, homeowners, architects and builders are increasingly specifying locally produced and FSC-certified wood products.

 

This afternoon technical session will highlight current and emerging markets for certified wood products and provide an introduction to FSC chain-of-custody (CoC) certification for wood manufacturing businesses. FSC certified business owners will discuss their experiences with chain-of-custody certification and the certified marketplace.

 

This session will provide an ideal networking opportunity for businesses interested in marketing FSC wood products. Attendees will include: FSC certified landowners, wood manufacturers, mill operators, wholesale distributors, retail lumber yards and other companies and organizations who participate in the FSC chain-of-custody network in the Pacific Northwest. During a post-conference social hour, participants will have an opportunity to network while enjoying hors devours.

 

If you are interested in capitalizing on a quickly growing niche market, this seminar is for you!

 

Topics will include:

• FSC chain-of-custody 101

• Green building programs in WA

• FSC markets: regional, national & interntl.

• What FSC products are in demand

• How to find FSC timber & lumber

• Growth trends in FSC markets

• FSC certified companies in the Pacific NW

• FSC marketing strategies

 

 

Once trees fall, they're hard to get back up

Sometimes I feel like I should name a log and keep track of where it goes in the house, so I can tell the story of harvesting it.

<<This photo: The last of 16 logs parked at the edge of the canyon.

We found about 16 excellent house logs in a dense stand of fir on the very steep east wall of a ravine we call "the canyon." I cut them, sometimes perched on the most tenuous footholds in the dirt while I sawed. Climbing up out of the canyon with a chainsaw was a workout. The next chore was to get the logs out of the canyon and onto flat ground. This was not so easy, either.

Imagine a beautiful August day, sun, a slight breeze. In most cases, the log's butt is on one side of the ravine, and the top is on the other, spanning the gap like a footbridge. At mid-span the log is 10-20' off the ground.

150' of winch cable barely reaches the first log we try to pull. Sitting on the tractor looking down over the edge, my partner can't see me or the log. With 2-way radios we signal when it's safe for her to pull with the winch, or for me to re-approach the log to see why the winch doesn't budge it. Our efforts merely pull the 3,000+ lb tractor closer to the edge of the brushy abyss. We try creating a block and tackle with one block, then two, then three. We get nowhere, and finally go elsewhere on the property to skid some easier logs, rather than make the day a complete loss.

There were 16 straight, sturdy logs on the ground down there, and we were determined to get them. Times like this call for heavier equipment. Our neighbor happens to have some.

Enter the 1950's-era Caterpillar D-2 with double winches. Apparently this is a real novelty -- what's even more novel is that it still runs -- and within a few days we had it parked on the rim of the canyon. For safety, it was chained to a second Caterpillar. When this much diesel smoke is flying, heavy things tend to get moving.

Heavy things did indeed move -- the two Cats were dragged to the edge, while the log sat stationary. I cut the top 20-30' off the tree. With both winches pulling, and an hour of trial and error, the first log finally made the trip to the top. 15 to go. All had to be topped in the canyon.

<< This photo: Caterpillar D-2 with double winches. Some trees took both winches, often pulling from different angles, to recover.

In the first day we got 6 logs, and things started going much better. The second day we got another 6. The third day we got the remaining 4. It was a marvelous thing, to stand by and watch a 60-80' log make the trip to the top in under a minute. It was like watching a train go by.

Each log we winched individually to the edge, then hooked to the larger Cat and dragged it onto the level deck. Once on deck, we manufactured each log -- cut off the limbs and stubs of broken limbs, cut off any swollen butts or "pistol butts," cut off sections with extreme sweep. We sometimes cut long logs into manageable lengths. One log was 74' long, longer than the house, and that log made a 42' and a 32'. Then we dragged them behind the tractor to the house-log deck, where they will stay until the sawmill arrives.

Thank goodness our neighbor had the equipment, and was willing to devote the time to help us get these logs out of the canyon! It was another of those episodes that make this project the experience of a lifetime for us.