Oregon Forest Industries Council

OFIC

Oregon Forests Capture Half of Our State’s Human-Caused Carbon Emissions

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Imagine you’re a university professor who just finished writing a research paper claiming timber harvest is the leading source of carbon emission in Oregon. You print off your final paper copy, seal up the paper journal submission envelope, and put the envelope in the mail so it can make its way to the publisher in a truck that burns fossil fuels as it trundles across the country to its destination. You’re about to climb into your 2011 Prius to take a much-needed vacation to Yellowstone National Park, but before you shut down your computer (that runs on electricity produced by burning fossil fuels) you decide to calculate your trip’s carbon footprint. It turns out that even in your fuel-efficient vehicle, driving the 3,316 round-trip miles to Yellowstone produces 0.61 tons of carbon dioxide! The good news, though, is that you only need to plant five trees before you leave because in five years those trees will have offset all the carbon emissions from your trip.  When those five trees have reached age 40, they will have sequestered approximately 5 tons of carbon dioxide. If those were five Douglas-fir trees, they will have sequestered 69.5 tons of carbon dioxide by age 100! As you climb into your car, you have a nagging sensation in the back of your mind about the paper you just submitted. You feel like you forgot something in your calculations, but you just can’t seem to put your finger on it…

In January 2018, Oregon State University College of Forestry professor Dr. Beverly E. Law and others (Law et al. 2018) published an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) claiming timber harvest is the leading source of carbon emission in Oregon. Though the underlying data are not wrong, the researchers manipulate those data in a manner clearly designed to produce a contrived outcome. Because the assumptions are entirely untethered from reality, the paper is unusable in carbon policy conversations in Oregon.

Analysis: In zeal to restrict logging, advocacy groups exploit dubious research

There are a host of problems with the paper (click here for the top five mistakes) but the paper has one error so enormous you could drive a carbon-packed log truck through it: they completely ignored the fact that the forest sector replants after harvest.  That’s like trying to convince Oregonians we’re using up all the water in the reservoir and ignoring the fact that it rains.

According to the most recent USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis data, Oregon’s forests are growing twice as much wood annually than is harvested – in fact, since 1953, the entire U.S. annual net growth has exceeded annual harvest and the total volume of growing stock on U.S. timberlands has increased by 60% (Oswalt et al 2018). More than 40 million tree seedlings are hand-planted in Oregon every year. Not only is reforestation the right thing to do and the only way to guarantee a sustainable, reliable source of timber, but it is also the law in Oregon. Reforestation is one of the many things required by the Oregon Forest Practices Act (FPA). The FPA is first-in-the-nation legislation to regulate forest management and to formalize a way to incorporate best practices and evolving science into an adaptive regulatory framework. It was landmark legislation in 1971 and remains current today, with nearly 40 revisions since then. The FPA incorporates more than 45 years of science to safeguard water, fish and wildlife habitat, soil and air. Not only does the FPA require reforestation following harvest, it also requires that within six years those new seedlings (more than 200 per acre) are thriving and outgrowing competing grass and brush on their own.

Forest carbon stock and flux data sourced from USFS FIA data (2001-2010) and emissions data sourced from Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (2015).

Roughly 50 percent of the dry weight of wood is carbon, and that carbon remains locked in wood products produced from Oregon’s forests for the entire life of those products, long after those reforested acres grow into healthy, lush forests. In fact, because one cubic meter of wood stores nearly a metric ton of carbon dioxide, a new eight-story condominium building currently being constructed in Portland (called Carbon12) with extensive use of mass timber products, will offset 577 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from going into the atmosphere. That’s equivalent to keeping 169 cars off the road for a year — with one building. The newly completed Oregon headquarters of First Tech Credit Union in Hillsboro is the largest known U.S. building to date that uses cross-laminated timber, or CLT, for flooring, and glulam posts and beams. It is five stories and high and has 156,000 square feet of office space. U.S. and Canada’s forests can grow this much wood in 2 minutes! The building stores 530 metric tons of carbon dioxide and avoids 1,130 metric tons of carbon dioxide. This is equivalent to taking 317 cars off the road for a year and saves enough energy to operate 141 homes for a year! Find out the carbon benefits of your wood home based on square footage or board feet associated with construction using this carbon calculator.

Wood is the ultimate green building material because it is the only major building material that stores carbon. It’s renewable, recyclable, and in Oregon, it’s sustainably and locally produced. Wood produced from Oregon forestland regulated by the state’s forest protection law qualifies as responsibly sourced under the internationally recognized American Society of Testing Materials standard, and therefore can count toward the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) credit for wood use in sustainable building projects. New houses are built every day in Oregon and across the United States. If we were to reduce the state’s wood production, we only ensure that developers turn to wood from other jurisdictions with more lenient environmental protections than we have in Oregon. Or worse, that we might turn to less climate-friendly alternatives to wood.

Setting aside the fact that not replanting is illegal in Oregon and therefore the Law et al. 2018 scientific model is unrealistic at best, the researchers also cast aside the permanent benefits of using wood over alternative building products, citing a news article (not a peer-reviewed scientific article) that claims modern wood buildings only last a few decades. Continuing in the “alternate universe” theme, the researchers further claim that carbon emissions from wildfire were lower than carbon emissions from timber production. In order to arrive at that conclusion, the publication used outdated fire data and omitted the Biscuit Fire as an outlier, despite more recent publications concluding that fires of that magnitude will be increasingly common in the future due to climate change (Jain, Wang & Flannigan 2017).

Understandably, the publication elicited a lot of head shaking, which enticed Dave Atkins, retired USFS forest ecologist and president of the online news outlet Treesource to take a deep dive into the details of the author’s assumptions.  Atkins interviewed better experts than evidently participated in the PNAS peer-review process and wrote an extensive rebuttal piece that sheds light on the significant flaws in the publication.

Wood products come from trees. And there’s no better place in the world to grow (and re-grow) trees than Oregon. A healthy wood products market generated by local, sustainable forest management practices incentivizes good forest practices, maintains the value of forestland, and keeps forests as forests in Oregon. In light of its positive contribution to climate change, OFIC looks forward to working with state lawmakers on finding ways to encourage the use of more Oregon wood, not less.

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Protecting Oregon’s Best Source Of Clean Water

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When foresters get ready to harvest timber out of the woods, there’s a lot of work done before the logging crew goes in, including marking areas of trees not to cut. One of those areas is called a Riparian Management Area (RMA), which is a buffer of trees left standing next to a stream to protect water quality. The Oregon Forest Practices Act dictates how wide those buffers should be, depending on the size of the stream and if it contains sensitive species that require extra protection. This month, new rules go into effect requiring bigger buffers around cold water streams supporting salmon, steelhead or bull trout.

OFIC went out into the woods with a team of two professional foresters, three interns, and a cadre of furry four-legged tag-alongs to measure and mark an RMA on a large fish-bearing stream in a unit of forestland about to be harvested in the Oregon north coast range.

In order to get to the stream, the team hiked into the forest on foot.

We head out into the woods armed with colored tape and tools for measuring the RMA (and me hauling loads of camera gear).

Don’t be fooled by the word “hiking.” This was not an average weekend stroll through manicured trails in a state park. Oregon’s coastal forestland is remote, rough terrain, with steep slopes and dense underbrush. These are 40 to 60-year-old stands of trees that have had little disturbance for decades. I was warned to make sure all my camera gear was tied to my body (I still lost my lens cap) and to take off my wedding ring so I didn’t get my hand snagged on brush. We went early in the morning before the yellow jackets came out, and the dogs were there for more than just companionship. I’m pretty fit, but that day proved to be some of the hardest “hiking” I’ve ever done.

In order to get down to the large stream, we tracked a small, non-fish bearing tributary. While walking in the “stream” wasn’t easy (I had mud over the tops of my hiking boots within 10 minutes), it was certainly easier than trying to stay upright on the steep slope of forestland on either side of the stream. As we went, we tied brightly colored tape on brush every few feet to mark the stream for the logging crew.

Paul tries to assess if it’s better to climb over those downed logs or walk around. I voted for walk around.

We made slow, humid progress climbing (and falling, in my case) over logs. I used the excuse of taking photos to stop for a breather. I’m sure the crew would have been twice as fast without me.

I had to keep my camera tucked in my vest to prevent it from banging into stuff so it got pretty fogged up cause I was sweating all over the place, but if you look closely you can see how the pink ribbon marks the stream for the logging crew.

Eventually, the forest opened up and the tributary lead us to our target: the large stream. I was celebrating the fact that I wouldn’t have to scramble through a wet stream anymore. Surely this part would be easier, right?

Ah, finally, I can actually see where I’m going.

The Oregon Forest Practices Act requires a 100-foot buffer of trees around large fish-bearing streams. That means the team had to measure a 100-foot distance from the edge of the stream and mark that edge (by tying tape on trees) along the whole length of the stream in the unit to be harvested so the logging crew would know to stay out of that buffer. In order to measure 100 feet, Paul climbed up the slope next to the stream and Luke and the crew stood at the edge of the stream. Using a survey grade laser range finder, Paul measured 100 feet by pointing the laser at a reflective sign Luke held at the edge of the stream.

Sometimes it was a clear shot. Other times, stuff was in the way and it took a lot of yelling back and forth to make sure Luke and Paul could determine how far apart they were. I make a good college try of walking along with Paul on the hillside, but there were times when the forest floor vegetation and decaying debris was so dense I just had to step on something and trust that I wouldn’t fall through. Of course I did fall through plenty of times. In fact, I couldn’t wear a skirt to work for two weeks because my legs were so bruised and scratched. At one point, Paul directed me to walk a different route than him because he said it would be “easier” for me to walk through the power line corridor. There are no pictures of that part because I was too busy pushing my way through a tangle of blackberry vines taller than I am and frantically hoping I wasn’t lost. When I finally found Paul he swore he wasn’t trying to ditch me, but I still can’t be sure.

Most entertaining was watching Luke perform stream-side acrobatics to get the reflector in a good spot.

Luke spent lots of time in uncomfortable looking stretches trying to put the reflective sign in a spot where Paul could “see” it with the laser. When it was determined they were 100 feet apart, Paul marked the edge of the buffer with tape and moved on down the stream.

This went on for a long time, slowly marking the edge of the buffer by tying tape every few trees.

The interns and I ate a lot of huckleberries growing alongside the stream while we waited for Paul and Luke to figure out how far apart they were.

As he marked the buffer, Paul was also counting mandated “leave trees,” and he occasionally stopped to write down in a notebook how many he’d counted. The Oregon Forest Practices Act requires foresters leave two standing live trees and two downed trees per acre for wildlife habitat. It also requires snags, which are standing dead trees that have had their tops broken off for wildlife, like woodpeckers.

We also stopped to look for evidence of black bears, identified a number of lobster mushrooms, and removed slugs from Luke’s hard hat. All in all, a pretty good time and a heck of a workout. Eventually, after four or five hours Luke and Paul took pity on me and hiked us all back out, vowing that they would come back and finish marking the rest of the buffer another day.

Not pictured are Paul, Luke and I devouring some much deserved fish and chips after a day of hard work in the woods.

Here’s a video flavor of what it was like in real life!

 

 

Winners of Forestry in Focus Image Contest Announced

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Oregon Forest & Industries Council, National Wild Turkey Federation, Oregon Tree Farms System, and Oregon Society of American Foresters today announced 11 winners of the state-wide Forestry in Focus Oregon Managed Forest Image Contest during the Foresters Day at the Capitol in Salem. The contest, which launched in January and was open to Oregon natural resource professionals and students, received over 240 submissions in five categories.

“We were overwhelmed by the interest and participation in the contest,” said Sara Duncan, Public Affairs Director at Oregon Forest & Industries Council. “The fact that we had so many quality entries is a testament to the passion and pride of the people who work in Oregon’s timber industry. Our judging panel had a difficult time selecting winners because there were so many excellent images.”

First and second place winners were selected from each of the five categories outlined in the contest. First place winners received $125 gift cards to Cabela’s, and second place winners received $75 gift cards to Cabela’s. The image with the most votes on the website received the “People’s Choice” award: two tickets to a Portland Timbers soccer game donated by Hampton Family Farms. All 11 images will be on display in the Galleria at the Capital Building in Salem on May 5, in National Wild Turkey Federation’s Turkey Country Magazine, and in-store at Cabela’s Tualatin.

1st place in the Working Selfie category

“Sure It’s Wet, It’s Cold, and It’s Foggy, But it’s Also Worth It” – Paul Betts

2nd place in the Working Selfie category

“Forester” – Tiffany Roddy

1st place in the Wildlife and Landscapes in Working Forests category

“Logging Up Burnt Mountain” – Carissa Spontini

2nd place in the Wildlife and Landscapes in Working Forests category

“Winter Scene … Old and Young Forest” – Joan Martelli

1st place in the We Don’t Just Work Here, We Play Here category

“Casey the Adventure Dog on Alsea Mountain” – Joan Martelli

2nd place in the We Don’t Just Work Here, We Play Here category

“Summer Sunrise” – Tyler Madison

1st place in the Pursuit of Knowledge category

“Seeing the Forest for the Trees” – Tiffany Roddy

2nd place in the Pursuit of Knowledge category

“Take Your Son to Work Day” – Florian Deisenhofer

1st place in the Made in Oregon category

“Feeding the Mill at First Light” – Mike Brim

2nd place in the Made in Oregon category

“Turning Trees into Logs” – Jana Peterson

1st place, People’s Choice Award

“Into the Flames” – Jana Peterson

Agriculture and Forestry Groups Collaborate to Host First-of-its-Kind Communication Outreach Event

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Contacts:

Jenny Schweigert, execdir@agchat.org, 309-241-8803

Sara Duncan, sara@www.ofic.com, 503-586-1246

In an effort to advance forestry and agriculture communications, specifically on social media, Oregon Forest & Industries Council and the AgChat Foundation have collaborated to host a one-day training event on January 17.

The inaugural Log On 2017 conference is designed for foresters, conservationists, farmers, ranchers, natural resource and agribusiness professionals from across the pacific northwest. Sessions will focus on translating experiences within timber and agriculture to relatable conversations and fostering improved communications with those who may have questions about natural resource operations. An emphasis will be placed on expanding communication of personal experiences on social media, in person and with societal leaders. Additionally, the conference will team those in timber and agriculture advocacy to provide supportive networking opportunities.

Brent Fetsch from Northwest Farm Credit Services will set the stage for the day’s collaboration by illuminating the need for joining the offline and online conversations around our forests and fields. The morning will follow with sessions about utilizing tools like Instagram and visually appealing technology to share experiences, and basic Facebook, Instagram and Twitter instruction. A working lunch will feature Oregon Representative Julie Parrish, who will share her personal and professional experiences networking with Oregonians and the importance of social media to grassroots advocacy. The afternoon will focus on navigating challenging conversations, with communications insights from those who work in agriculture and forestry and those who work outside of natural resource.

The day will close with forestry advocacy pioneer, Russ Vaagen of Vaagen Bros. Lumber. Vaagen will discuss his recent experience of jumping into the world of social media and the conversations and value that have derived as a result of making connections with the public. He will leave the audience with his philosophy of an open-minded approach to communicating about food, timber, fuel and fiber.

Seating is limited. Registration is open until January 11. For additional information, session descriptions, presenter bios and details, visitwww.LogOn17.com.

Forestry in Focus

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Forestry and Conservation Groups Launch Oregon Managed Forest Image Contest

****SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM TO SUBMIT AN IMAGE!****

Oregon Forest & Industries Council, National Wild Turkey Federation, Oregon Tree Farms System, and Oregon Society of American foresters today launched a state-wide image contest entitled “Forestry in Focus.” The contest, which is open to Oregon natural resource professionals and students, provides an opportunity for those who work in and around Oregon’s forests to proudly display their pride, commitment and enjoyment for being innovative stewards of one of Oregon’s most important natural resources.

“For those who live, work and play in the woods, the incredible things they see and do every day are commonplace,” said Sara Duncan, Public Affairs Director at Oregon Forest & Industries Council. “But for the vast majority of us who don’t see herds of elk browsing in open fields in the middle of the forest or the awe-inspiring skill it takes to maneuver 100 foot logs into a tidy pile everyday, those images are educational and intriguing. This glimpse into their world is a way to share experiences with our fellow Oregonians and introduce the faces of those who make modern forestry a reality.”

Contestants may submit an unlimited number of images in five categories: “A Working Selfie”, “Wildlife and Landscapes in Managed Forests,” “Made in Oregon,” “We Don’t Just Work Here, We Play Here,” and “The Pursuit of Knowledge.” The submission deadline for images is April 22. The top five images will each be awarded $125 gift cards to Cabela’s, and five second place images will each be awarded $75 gift cards to Cabela’s. One grand prize winner will be awarded two tickets to a Portland Timbers soccer game. The winning ten images will be displayed in the Galleria at the Capitol Building in Salem on May 5, in National Wild Turkey Federation’s Turkey Country Magazine, in-store at Cabela’s Tualatin and online through participating partner websites or social media channels.

“The National Wild Turkey Federation recognizes the value of our managed forests in Oregon.  While many of our members use these lands to pursue wild game, they also work in industries directly related to forestry,” said Mikal Moore, Pacific Northwest District Biologist for the NWTF.  “Through the categories of the photo contest, we will see through the eyes of the public, students, and industry how these forests contribute to our outdoors lifestyle, education, and local economics.  We are proud to help support this contest and bring recognition to Oregon’s working forests.”

Rules:  This is a contest conducted by Oregon Forest Industries Council, dba Oregon Forest & Industries Council (“OFIC” or “we”), and certain partners.  This contest is designed to promote and incentivize photography that captures the natural resources generally, and the timber industry specifically.  We would also like to use images you submit in certain promotional materials, and to that end, we need you to agree to a few terms and conditions.  IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS, PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT AN ENTRY.  By submitting an image in this contest, you acknowledge and agree that OFIC and its partners may use your photograph as we see fit without limitation or further compensation to you, and to edit, adapt, modify, reproduce, publish, promote, display, and otherwise use your photograph with or without attribution to you.  By submitting any entry, you are declaring that the submitted image was generated by you, and that you hold the copyright.  You further acknowledge that OFIC may, for any reason, and in its sole discretion, determine that images submitted are inappropriate and ineligible for prizes.  OFIC will not use images it deems inappropriate for any purpose (that is, if your photo doesn’t qualify for the contest, we won’t use it for any purpose).

**** SUBMIT AN IMAGE USING THE FORM BELOW****

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The Oregon Board of Forestry Can Not Regulate Forestry Without Proper Representation

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The Oregon Board of Forestry, a seven-member board charged with making forest policy decisions and adopting rules that regulate public and private forests, plays a critical role in the management of one of our state’s most important natural resources. Two of the seven Board seats are currently up for re-appointment, and one is vacant. Currently, the regulated community has no representation on the Board.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown nominates these appointments, which are confirmed by the Oregon Senate.  Click here to submit a letter to Governor Brown and Senate members urging them to restore balance to the Board by appointing a landowner who derives a significant portion of their income directly from regulated activities to the open Board seat.

The Board’s seven members make pivotal decision on management activities that are critical to the success of our rural businesses and the communities they support throughout Oregon. For example, the new draft riparian rules were predicated by the Board’s determination that to meet an arbitrary cold water standard, Oregon’s streams needed wider riparian buffers. The implementation of this new regulation will have enormous consequences for public and private forest landowners across the state who manage our forests to provide wildlife habitat, clean air and water, and renewable resources. The Board also recently directed the Department of Forestry to develop a plan to identify and protect Marbled murrelets after anti-forestry litigants sued the Board to force them to prioritize more stringent protections for a species whose populations are stable in Oregon.

The policy decisions made by the Board clearly have far-reaching impact, and as such, should be made with adequate input from relevant stakeholders.  By Oregon statute, no more than three members of the Board may receive any significant portion of their income from the forest products industry – and there’s good reason for that: Oregonians are best served by a diversity of perspectives, including regulated and nonregulated interests.

In spite of that statute, not even one member of the current Board derives any significant portion of their income from activities subject to the Forest Practices Act.

It is impossible for the Board to adequately review and vote on regulations without the benefit of on-the-ground, practical knowledge of how those regulations will impact the many foresters, loggers and landowners who work in the woods every day. This is akin to a hospital board not having the input of a physician.

In order to avoid regulation without representation, it is absolutely critical that the current open seat on the Board of Forestry be appointed to a landowner who derives a significant portion of their income directly from regulated activities.

Please let Governor Brown and Senate members know the importance of this appointment by sending a letter here.

Oregon Tree Farmers Receive National Recognition for Sustainability

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Annually, the Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year (OTFY) award recognizes four Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers out of the 74,000 Tree Farmers nationwide. These are private landowners that have done an exceptional job of forest management on their property and are also actively promoting sustainable forestry.  Through this award program, these individuals are honored as leaders in good forestry while their land demonstrates the benefits of good forest management. The AFF governance and the ATFS community then select a national awardee from among the regional awardees.

Since the program began 40 years ago, Oregon tree farmers have been honored with this national recognition five times – more than any other state (a first-place position Oregon shares with Georgia.)

oregon-dean-sharon-dallas-and-lyle-defrees1This year, the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) announced the Defrees family of northeast Oregon received the 2016 National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year award. The Defrees family is a member of the Oregon Tree Farm System, the state affiliate for the American Tree Farm System, whose mission is to promote the growing of renewable forest resources on private lands while protecting environmental benefits and increasing public understanding of all the benefits of productive forestry and to help Oregon’s family forest owners sustainably care for their forests. The mission is accomplished, in part, through a partnership with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a forest certification standard that promotes sustainable forest management.

The SFI program recognizes fiber from ATFS-certified forests, so forest product manufacturers are able to source logs from tree farmers like the DeFrees to certify content for SFI label use. The SFI label enables consumers a guarantee that their wood and paper products come from legal and responsible sources.

The Defrees Tree Farm is located in Baker County in northeast Oregon and sells its saw logs to Boise Cascade.

“It’s always a pleasure to work with a family like the DeFrees, who are excellent forest stewards and whose values and priorities are directly in line with SFI’s,” said John Fullerton, Wood Procurement Manager at Boise-Cascade. “Boise Cascade has Chain-of-Custody certification from SFI, so we build business relationships with partners that share our commitment to sustainability. We’ve been sourcing logs from the DeFrees for a long time. It’s clear through their management practices that they’re committed to sustaining environmental resources for future generations, so this recognition as National Tree Farmers of the Year is well deserved.”

Father and son duo, Lyle and Dean Defrees, along with their family, Sharon Defrees, Dallas Hall, Riley Hall, Nathan Defrees, Jess Defrees, Tyler Defrees and Max Patashnik, have been protecting their forested land, the wildlife habitat it provides, and the water supply that runs through it, for more than 100 years.

“We’re truly honored to be chosen as the National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year,” said Lyle Defrees. “Our family has had a passion for our land and conservation for generations. Most everything we do is to protect our land from fire so it can continue to provide for us, the wildlife in our region, and our fellow Oregonians. We joined ATFS in 1980 because we wanted to be a part of a community of other forest owners that share our interest, where we could learn from them, as well as share our own experiences and help others.”

The DeFrees Tree Farm operates in a region of the state prone to intense wildfires that have consumed both forest and homes, and affected the watersheds that supply the communities of the state with their drinking water. The Defrees experienced ones of these wildfires firsthand when the Huckleberry Forest Fire of 1986 burned 500 acres of their 2,000-acre Tree Farm. Devastated by the effects, the Defrees committed to protecting their forest and all that it provides from future loss.  The result of the Defrees hard work and commitment to sound forest practices has had tremendous impact on the ground – a fire resilient forest, needed wildlife habitat, healthy creeks and waterways and more.

“The Defrees family lives a land ethic that predates the 75-year legacy of the American Tree Farm System,” said Scott Hayes, Chair of the Oregon Tree Farm System.  “For over a century they have practiced sustainable forest and cattle management.  Their storybook tale is about pioneering the West, with a foundation built on family and land.  They truly are National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year.”

The Defrees family will be honored along with the Regional Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year on December 6, at a reception on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the program.

Measure 97: Bad for Forest Products, Bad for Everyone

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As the wood products industry and Oregon’s rural communities continue to claw their way out of the Great Recession, a new threat is looming on the horizon. In November, Oregonians will get a chance to vote on Measure 97, the biggest tax increase in Oregon history, a $6 billion gross receipts tax that would affect the forest products industry, their suppliers, and customers. This new tax will put Oregon sawmills at a disadvantage vis-à-vis competitors in Washington and Canada.

The proponents of Measure 97 argue that this “corporate sales tax” is needed so large, out-of-state corporations pay their fair share, but if approved, this tax would reach much further than that. Started in 1942, Hampton Lumber is an Oregon-based, family-owned business but they meet the definition for a corporation that would be taxed if Measure 97 passes.

Hampton's mill in Willamina.

Hampton’s mill in Willamina.

“This tax would increase costs throughout our production process, from timber harvest to wholesale,” said David Hampton, co-owner of Hampton Lumber. “We’d be affected directly and indirectly through increased utility and supply costs. It’s a poorly conceived measure that will hurt our business and consumers throughout the state.”

The kicker about Measure 97 is that it’s a tax on total sales, not profits.  That’s kind of like a waiter being taxed on the total bill of the meal he serves, rather than the tip he receives. For high-volume, low-margin products, there’s very little room to absorb the tax. By taxing sales rather than income, companies would have to pay the tax, even if they don’t make a profit.

“That’s the biggest downside for us – the fact that we’d have to pay the tax even if we were losing money,” Roseburg Forest Products President and CEO Grady Mulbery said. “Our industry is very cyclical – we go through lots of ups and downs. Roseburg has enjoyed some decent years as we’ve emerged from the recent recession, but we still have not recovered the losses we incurred as we kept plants running and kept our employees working as much as possible. Our ability to do the same in a future downturn would be severely hampered by this additional tax.”

To truly understand the compounding effect a gross receipts tax like Measure 97 would have on the timber products industry, and ultimately the consumer, it’s important to follow a product along the complex supply chain from forest to frame. Every time the product changes hands is a new opportunity for a 2.5 percent tax as a result of Measure 97.

loggerThe first step starts in the woods with a logger harvesting timber. Andrew Siegmund is the third-generation owner of Siegmund Excavation and Construction, a road construction & logging contractor that has been operating in northwest Oregon for over 40 years. His company is hired by landowners, like Hampton, to build roads, harvest timber and deliver it to the mills. “We’re not a C corp,” Siegmund said, “but every business we do business with is, from fuel suppliers to parts and services, to equipment dealers and insurance companies – across the board. That’s pretty tough, our costs will be higher, but customers like Hampton are not going to be excited to have a conversation about increasing rates to offset that cost because they’re getting hit too.” Siegmund agreed that the only way his company could deal with the tax would be to freeze wages and benefits, lay-off employees, or pass the cost on. “We can’t move, and we can’t wring any more efficiency out of our operations. We’ve made considerable investments in machinery and technology to be as efficient as possible, we’re operating at the cutting edge.

The challenges facing Siegmund are not uncommon.  The nonpartisan Oregon Legislative Revenue Office issued a report on the potential impacts of Measure 97 and estimated that 38,000 private sector jobs would be lost as a result of Measure 97.

After a logger delivers the logs to the sawmill, Hampton Lumber processes the logs into lumber and residuals.  When they sell these products to their customers, a 2.5 percent sales tax is generated.  Incidentally, Hampton Lumber also has an Oregon wholesale business, so when they sell lumber between their mills and their wholesale business, they’ll pay an additional 2.5 percent tax. You can easily see how the compounded cost from taxes associated with inputs to the logger, the mill, and the wholesale operation (electricity, trucking, repairs, supplies) will pile up.  The wholesaler then sells the lumber to a retailer, then to a home builder, and eventually to a buyer who, as the last stop in the supply chain, will ultimately pay a higher price for a home when the entire supply chain passes the compounded cost down-stream. In that way, Measure 97 is worse than a simple sales tax, which Oregonians have voted down nine times.

Measure 97 would hit business operations but it would also impact families directly through increased prices on everyday items like groceries, utilities, fuel, and clothing. The Oregon Legislative Revenue Office report estimated that the tax would cost Oregon households between $372 and $1,282 per year as a result of higher prices and other impacts.  For example, Measure 97 would cost a family making between $48,000 and $68,000 annually $613 per year.

The very worst part about Measure 97 is that in the end, there’s no guarantee the money raised by the tax would go to education or anything else. Proponents of the measure are trying to convince voters that the money would be dedicated to a few specific things, but that’s just not the case. The money will go into the General Fund and the Legislature could spend the money any way it sees fit. It’s a bad deal for Oregonians all around.

Inside Seneca’s High-Tech Sawmill

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So you think you know a sawmill? Men dressed in overalls on either side of a big log working a two sided saw back and forth, logs rumbling down rickety tracks, burly guys running lengths of board through a circular saw listening for the sound of the lunch whistle?

Not anymore.

The basic elements of a sawmill are still the same: logs go in on one side and lumber comes out on the other.  That’s pretty much where the similarities end, though. Today’s sawmill is nothing like sawmills of settlement times or even just a decade ago. Modern sawmills are highly mechanized, highly technical, and highly efficient. Lasers guide logs on tracks that whip by at high speed, scanners determine how to customize and optimize cuts on individual logs, high speed digital cameras and sensors increase precision, and metal detectors uncover rogue saw-destroying nails. It’s like one big computerized video game, and the name of the game is efficiency.

Stacks of lumber wait their turn in the kiln at Seneca's Eugene sawmill.

Stacks of lumber wait their turn in the kiln at Seneca’s Eugene sawmill.

Seneca’s sawmill in Eugene is a prime example of technological advancement and innovation in the lumber industry. When Aaron Jones founded Seneca Sawmill Company in 1954, it was his insistent commitment to maximizing efficiency that drove the company to secure more than 20 patents on mechanical modernization. Seneca will soon complete a $60 million expansion investment to their sawmill in Eugene that will enable them to further increase efficiency and adaptability with the addition of two new, larger dry kilns and a collection of advanced instruments that would impress most engineers.

The primary driver behind Seneca’s expansion is a change in the marketplace. Demand in the lumber market has shifted to a greater reliance on dry wood over green wood, primarily as building code regulations have been modified to reduce mildew and mold growth. What that means for companies like Seneca is that they’re selling more wood that’s been dried to contain less than 18 percent moisture. That’s done by using kilns to heat the finished lumber for 35 to 60 hours at 180 degrees. Three of Seneca’s five kilns have been added in the last two years as the demand for dry lumber has increased. The new addition allows Seneca to dry approximately 60 percent of its overall lumber production at the Eugene facilities.

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Dave Alford works from the control room at Seneca’s mill. Dave has worked for Seneca for more than 30 years as a headrig operator.

The expansion also provides an opportunity for Seneca to further develop and enhance technology within the mill to increase efficiency. After logs are sorted by size and run through the debarker, each log is scanned by what’s called the merchandizer. The goal of the merchandizer is to evaluate the best use for each log based on its particular qualities. It takes into account slight variances in grain, bend, and knots, and references current sales prices to determine how to get the most value out of each individual log. By holding the log stationary and running the scanner over the log (as opposed to running the log through a stationary scanner) Seneca is able to get a slightly more accurate scan and subsequently slightly better optimization. Multiply that by thousands of logs scanned each day, and the end result is a significant reduction in waste. By cutting what the market demands that day, Seneca increases efficiency and is able to provide on-demand products.

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Lumber heads in to the scanner at Seneca’s Eugene mill.

Seneca also utilizes laser and sensor technology to sort the lumber by grade to ensure quality and meet design expectations. By combining color vision technology with high density geometric scanning, mill operators get a precise three dimensional look at the product and make decisions on grade and ways to trim the product to increase value. The lumber is then stamped with a grade and scanned to guarantee no piece is missed.

An increase in mechanization has also led to an increase in higher wage jobs at the mill. It also means fewer workers are physically moving, sorting, and marking lumber which dramatically increases safety for the mill’s workers. Seneca’s Eugene mill employs a talented staff of controller and programmers along with a skilled group of millwrights and electricians all dedicated to maintaining state-of-the-art equipment and technology.  In the filing room, seasoned saw filers work on repairing and keeping the many saw blades sharp. Every blade gets sharpened twice a day and some are coated with a stellite tip, a hardened alloy designed to keep the saw tooth sharper, longer.

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A hardened alloy called stellite is applied to the saw blade to keep the saw tooth sharper, longer.

Sharp blades are important when efficiency is the name of the game, and running the logs through a metal detector before they enter the mill also helps protect those blades. A nail buried deep in a log can wreak havoc on a system that is driven by speed, efficiency, and optimization.

As further proof that not a scrap of the tree is wasted, the leftover sawdust is blown out of the mill at the end of each shift and used to power, in part, the mill’s on-site biomass energy facility. The heat generated by burning sawdust, bark and shavings in the biomass facility is used to power the kilns that dry the lumber, bringing the whole system into an efficient cycle of optimization.

Never settling for the status quo, Seneca continues to chart a course of automation, optimization and efficiency, all necessary attributes to remain on the cutting edge of wood products innovation.

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