Current timber boom just passing Oregon by.Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Sean Smith Sean Smith may refer to one of the following:
Here's a stark picture of the state of the forest products industry in Oregon and the Northwest. This report is intended for those outside the industry. Oregon is the undisputed wood basket of the nation. It has 924 billion board feet of inventoried softwood timber (Douglas fir Douglas fir: see pine. Douglas fir Any of about six species of coniferous evergreen timber trees (see conifer) that make up the genus Pseudotsuga, in the pine family, native to western North America and eastern Asia. , assorted pine species, hemlock hemlock, any tree of the genus Tsuga, coniferous evergreens of the family Pinaceae (pine family) native to North America and Asia. The common hemlock of E North America is T. and cedar) growing on its 28 million acres of forest lands. To give some perspective, this timber volume is 45 percent greater than that of the entire Southern Yellow Pine Belt The Pine Belt is a region of the North American continent entirely enclosed with the United States of America, known for its abundance in pine trees. The Pine Belt spans from Oklahoma and Arkansas, across the South and Southeast, and upwards along the East Coast to New York. (Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia). Oregon's climate and geography are ideal for growing timber, and we grow vastly more of it than any other state. Why, then, is the forest products industry growing in Washington while it stagnates in Oregon? If raw timber inventories were the key to deciding whether to invest in sawmilling, plywood and other forest products facilities, Oregon clearly would be favored over Washington. It's 44 percent larger in area and has 36 percent more timberland. It has a labor surplus, particularly in rural areas. It abounds with cash-starved rural governments eager to bring in new industry and high-paying blue collar jobs. Yet with only a few exceptions, investment in new facilities in Oregon is at a standstill. In Washington, on the other hand, investment and job creation in forest products is booming. Old economy? In Washington, timber is the `new' growth industry, particularly with declines in job growth at Boeing and elsewhere in the aeronautics and high-tech sectors. Sierra Pacific Industries is slated to build a new, $100 million, high-production mill and electrical cogeneration facility in Everett, which will create about 200 high-wage jobs. That comes in addition to greatly enhancing the production capacity at its relatively new Aberdeen facility. Simpson Timber is investing $20 million in its Shelton facility, creating new capacity and more jobs. TreeSource Industries is upgrading and retooling its Tumwater mill. Hampton Lumber is doubling the capacity of its mill in Darrington. Lewis County Forest Products has added another mill, planer planer Metal-cutting machine tool in which the workpiece is firmly attached to a horizontal table that moves back and forth under a single-point cutting tool. The tool-holding device is mounted on a crossrail so that the tool can be moved across the table in small sideward and dry kiln dry kiln n. A heated chamber in which cut lumber is dried and seasoned. Noun 1. dry kiln - a kiln for drying and seasoning lumber kiln - a furnace for firing or burning or drying such things as porcelain or bricks at Chahalis, in addition to new stud and dimension mills it has recently brought on line in Shelton. In total, the capacity to produce more than 1 billion board feet more lumber has either been added or is soon to be added in Washington. Why the discrepancy in investment between the two states? Most of Washington's forest lands are either privately held or owned by the state, which manages its lands for timber production in accordance with Washington's constitution. In contrast, well over half of Oregon's timberlands are owned by the federal government, which is mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in dysfunctional laws and litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. to the point of being totally unable to guarantee any predictable level of timber supply. The vaunted vaunt v. vaunt·ed, vaunt·ing, vaunts v.tr. To speak boastfully of; brag about. v.intr. To speak boastfully; brag. See Synonyms at boast1. n. 1. Northwest Forest Plan of 1994, despite the good intentions of many, did nothing about this problem. The existence of vast tracts of marketable timber means nothing unless there's some guarantee that it will be available for use by industry. Companies don't invest millions on a leap of faith. Hence Oregon, with one of the highest rates of unemployment in the country, reaps very little of its rightful share of the timber boom that's going on elsewhere in the nation and around the world as a result of the continuing U.S. homebuilding bonanza. While others get rich, Oregon's most abundant source of natural wealth rots. Timber, once planted, grows for free. You don't need to fertilize it, irrigate ir·ri·gate v. To wash out a cavity or wound with a fluid. it or spray it. What a wonderful, resilient crop! But like any other crop, if it's not managed or harvested, it will either rot or burn. Sean Smith is vice president of Starfire Lumber Co. in Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, village (1990 pop. 22,935), Washington co., SE Minn., near the St. Croix River; inc. 1965. There is farming (cattle, sheep, corn, and soybeans) and manufacturing (chemicals and machinery). . |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion