Still the forest and timber capital of the US – this is the first impression you get of Oregon. It’s been 27 years since I last visited the Beaver State and as I head south through Willamette Valley, with Mike Barnes of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association (OSWA), who host my visit, the memories flood back. Timber trucks, logging towns with sawmills and board mills crop up repeatedly, while to the east, the ever-present Cascade Mountains with their densely covered Douglas fir forests and to the west lies the Oregon coast range. Oregon has an area of 255,026km2, about three times the size of the island of Ireland but unlike Ireland, 47% of the land is under forest.
State tree
Douglas fir is the state tree and the symbol of the importance of forestry to Oregonians. The species covers 35% of the total forest area, but its contribution to the economy is huge in sawmill, panel board and pole production. In one forest I visited, the company operated by Ken Nygren was removing transmission poles up to 120ft (37m) in length.
The second impression is that land use has visibly changed, at least in the rich soil type of the Willamette Valley since I last visited Oregon in 1992
The state tree appears on the number plates of cars, and in tourist bric-a-brac – from toys to T-shirts and coffee mugs, to baseball caps.
The second impression is that land use has visibly changed, at least in the rich soil type of the Willamette Valley since I last visited Oregon in 1992. Forestry remains at the same level, but agriculture and horticulture are also major industries here, led by the greenhouse industry with close to $1bn in sales followed by cattle and calves ($0.7bn), hay ($0.6bn), milk ($0.5bn), grass seed ($0.5bn), with a plethora of other crops including wheat, potatoes, pears and blueberries, with a cumulative value at $1bn. While Oregon is three-times the size of the island of Ireland, it has a population of only 4.3m. So 80% of Oregon’s agricultural production leaves the state, with 40% exported to 100 countries but mainly to Asia.
Elsewhere, there are subtle changes in land use and these quickly become apparent, with hazelnut and wine production the most obvious. Farmers and other landowners have no fear of changing land use here, if there is a market available for their produce. For example, during my previous visit, the state had 70 wineries with 2,300ha of vineyards. Now, Oregon boasts 778 wineries with 13,500ha of vineyards, producing international award-winning wines.
Despite pest and disease damage in recent years, hazelnut production continues apace in Oregon. Filbert farms (filbert is the name for the tree and nut) increased from 12,000ha in 2008 to almost 30,000ha last year. Turkey is still the biggest producer of hazelnuts in the world, but the US is catching up. However, it’s really Oregon that’s doing the catching up, as it accounts for 99% of all US hazelnut production.
Forest activity
While forestry is the backbone of the economy, forest activity doesn’t seem as busy compared with my first visit to Oregon or is it just my imagination? I asked Oregon Forestry & Industries Council (OFIC) president Kristina McNitt, and Seth Barnes director of Forest Policy. Their answer is the same: forestry activity has decreased over the past three decades for a number of reasons, but mainly due to passive management of federal forests.
Filbert farm, Oregon, accounts for 99% of all US hazelnut production as farms have increased from 12,000ha to 30,000ha during the past 10 years. \ Donal Magner
Between 1989 and 2011, the volume of timber harvested from federal lands in Oregon dropped by approximately 90%, but despite constraints, harvest levels on private land have held up remarkably well. Today, 78% of all log production is sourced from privately owned forests growing on 34% of the forest estate. Despite owning 60% of all Oregon’s forests, less than 20% of production is harvested in federal lands. Clearcutting was the norm until the 1980s, but when I visited Oregon last, clearfells were being phased out on federal lands for a number of reasons including the protection of the endangered northern spotted owl.
Solutions
Clearcuts have now ceased on federal lands which means, at most, selective thinning. The debate continues in Oregon on whether this approach is really protecting the spotted owl but a more contentious aspect of passive management is placing federal forests and neighbouring private forests at risk from fire, according to Kristina McNitt. “Solutions to decrease unchecked wildfires and increase the production of sustainable wood products in our federal forests must be part of the dialogue of Oregon’s cap-and-trade programme,” she said last year. The programme is designed to set a cap on total greenhouse emissions, whereby Oregon’s largest industries would be required to buy pollution permits to cover their emissions.
The company operated by Ken Nygren loads transmission poles, some achieving 120 feet (37m) lengths. \ Donal Magner
“Rampant megafires in federal forests have catastrophic consequences for our safety, health, communities, and economy,” she said. McNitt cannot see the logic in Oregon’s cap-and-trade programme. “When our forests go up in flames, decades of carbon sequestration and storage goes with it,” she said. “We can either breathe that carbon into our lungs as smoke, or we can store that carbon in renewable, sustainable wood products and plant trees to re-start the carbon cycle.”
She believes that the threat of forest fires could be alleviated by intensive forest management in federal forests, just as it is managed in productive private forests and she hadn’t changed her mind when I visited the council’s HQ. “Instead,” an exasperated McNitt said, “forest owners in Oregon pay more in taxes to protect forests against fire than in any other state”. She clearly believes the solution to fire damage lies in the hands of the federal government in cooperation with private growers, while climate change goals could be achieved if Oregon’s policy makers supported wood products.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll feature some of the views of Oregon’s influential forestry stakeholders including Peter Daugherty, state forester, Todd Payne, president and CEO, Seneca Sawmill Company, Mike Cloughesy, director of forestry at Oregon Forest Resources Institute, staff at Weyerhaeuser and members of Oregon Small Woodlands Association (OSWA), who are visiting Ireland this week.
Still the forest and timber capital of the US – this is the first impression you get of Oregon. It’s been 27 years since I last visited the Beaver State and as I head south through Willamette Valley, with Mike Barnes of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association (OSWA), who host my visit, the memories flood back. Timber trucks, logging towns with sawmills and board mills crop up repeatedly, while to the east, the ever-present Cascade Mountains with their densely covered Douglas fir forests and to the west lies the Oregon coast range. Oregon has an area of 255,026km2, about three times the size of the island of Ireland but unlike Ireland, 47% of the land is under forest.
State tree
Douglas fir is the state tree and the symbol of the importance of forestry to Oregonians. The species covers 35% of the total forest area, but its contribution to the economy is huge in sawmill, panel board and pole production. In one forest I visited, the company operated by Ken Nygren was removing transmission poles up to 120ft (37m) in length.
The second impression is that land use has visibly changed, at least in the rich soil type of the Willamette Valley since I last visited Oregon in 1992
The state tree appears on the number plates of cars, and in tourist bric-a-brac – from toys to T-shirts and coffee mugs, to baseball caps.
The second impression is that land use has visibly changed, at least in the rich soil type of the Willamette Valley since I last visited Oregon in 1992. Forestry remains at the same level, but agriculture and horticulture are also major industries here, led by the greenhouse industry with close to $1bn in sales followed by cattle and calves ($0.7bn), hay ($0.6bn), milk ($0.5bn), grass seed ($0.5bn), with a plethora of other crops including wheat, potatoes, pears and blueberries, with a cumulative value at $1bn. While Oregon is three-times the size of the island of Ireland, it has a population of only 4.3m. So 80% of Oregon’s agricultural production leaves the state, with 40% exported to 100 countries but mainly to Asia.
Elsewhere, there are subtle changes in land use and these quickly become apparent, with hazelnut and wine production the most obvious. Farmers and other landowners have no fear of changing land use here, if there is a market available for their produce. For example, during my previous visit, the state had 70 wineries with 2,300ha of vineyards. Now, Oregon boasts 778 wineries with 13,500ha of vineyards, producing international award-winning wines.
Despite pest and disease damage in recent years, hazelnut production continues apace in Oregon. Filbert farms (filbert is the name for the tree and nut) increased from 12,000ha in 2008 to almost 30,000ha last year. Turkey is still the biggest producer of hazelnuts in the world, but the US is catching up. However, it’s really Oregon that’s doing the catching up, as it accounts for 99% of all US hazelnut production.
Forest activity
While forestry is the backbone of the economy, forest activity doesn’t seem as busy compared with my first visit to Oregon or is it just my imagination? I asked Oregon Forestry & Industries Council (OFIC) president Kristina McNitt, and Seth Barnes director of Forest Policy. Their answer is the same: forestry activity has decreased over the past three decades for a number of reasons, but mainly due to passive management of federal forests.
Filbert farm, Oregon, accounts for 99% of all US hazelnut production as farms have increased from 12,000ha to 30,000ha during the past 10 years. \ Donal Magner
Between 1989 and 2011, the volume of timber harvested from federal lands in Oregon dropped by approximately 90%, but despite constraints, harvest levels on private land have held up remarkably well. Today, 78% of all log production is sourced from privately owned forests growing on 34% of the forest estate. Despite owning 60% of all Oregon’s forests, less than 20% of production is harvested in federal lands. Clearcutting was the norm until the 1980s, but when I visited Oregon last, clearfells were being phased out on federal lands for a number of reasons including the protection of the endangered northern spotted owl.
Solutions
Clearcuts have now ceased on federal lands which means, at most, selective thinning. The debate continues in Oregon on whether this approach is really protecting the spotted owl but a more contentious aspect of passive management is placing federal forests and neighbouring private forests at risk from fire, according to Kristina McNitt. “Solutions to decrease unchecked wildfires and increase the production of sustainable wood products in our federal forests must be part of the dialogue of Oregon’s cap-and-trade programme,” she said last year. The programme is designed to set a cap on total greenhouse emissions, whereby Oregon’s largest industries would be required to buy pollution permits to cover their emissions.
The company operated by Ken Nygren loads transmission poles, some achieving 120 feet (37m) lengths. \ Donal Magner
“Rampant megafires in federal forests have catastrophic consequences for our safety, health, communities, and economy,” she said. McNitt cannot see the logic in Oregon’s cap-and-trade programme. “When our forests go up in flames, decades of carbon sequestration and storage goes with it,” she said. “We can either breathe that carbon into our lungs as smoke, or we can store that carbon in renewable, sustainable wood products and plant trees to re-start the carbon cycle.”
She believes that the threat of forest fires could be alleviated by intensive forest management in federal forests, just as it is managed in productive private forests and she hadn’t changed her mind when I visited the council’s HQ. “Instead,” an exasperated McNitt said, “forest owners in Oregon pay more in taxes to protect forests against fire than in any other state”. She clearly believes the solution to fire damage lies in the hands of the federal government in cooperation with private growers, while climate change goals could be achieved if Oregon’s policy makers supported wood products.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll feature some of the views of Oregon’s influential forestry stakeholders including Peter Daugherty, state forester, Todd Payne, president and CEO, Seneca Sawmill Company, Mike Cloughesy, director of forestry at Oregon Forest Resources Institute, staff at Weyerhaeuser and members of Oregon Small Woodlands Association (OSWA), who are visiting Ireland this week.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: