Kudos to Kitzhaber!
Last month Oregon Governor Kitzhaber took two significant actions directly targeted at improving conditions for the forest products sector. This is meritorious in that the forest products industry has been generally left to its own devices over the last few Oregon administrations — just a sunset industry with an inherent controversial raw materials base. Not […]
Promoting Oregon – Governor’s Business Mission to Asia 2012
It was a privilege to be included in Oregon Governor Kitzhaber’s business development mission to Asia last month. The Governor’s two-fold objective for the mission to promote Oregon products and attract investment back into the state took the public-private sector group to China and Japan for ten days. The Governor is an advocate of personal […]
Maybe we are getting somewhere…
For many months, Oregon’s Congressional members, Greg Walden, Peter Defazio, and Kurt Schrader, worked on a solution for the imminent financial crisis facing many rural communities in Oregon that count on revenue generated from timber harvests off of O&C County Trust Lands (BLM) for county services. Most of us in Oregon are familiar with the […]
The “Family” in Family Owned Companies
We are fortunate to have so many family-owned companies in the Pacific Northwest that provide family-wage jobs for their employees. These family-owned companies plan and provide for long-term investments to encourage multi-generation involvement. Investments and multi-generation involvement bode well for the communities in which these businesses are located. Family-owned businesses tend to take pride in […]
Keep Jobs and Logs in Oregon!
The U.S. housing market is starting to pick up, which is good news for our sawmills. Unfortunately, there is a dark cloud looming over the Oregon sawmills. The Port of Newport has applied for and been recommended for Connect Oregon IV (“Connect IV”) funds. These funds come from Oregon tax payers’ and lottery monies – […]
Forest Water Quality
The first week of summer is a good time to reflect on the importance of water, water-quality, and where our water comes from. The forest products industry generally gets a bad rap for water quality. The Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) has published an issue of “Forest Facts” that debunks myths about poor water quality […]
Where Amazing Grows…
The new Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) website IS where “amazing grows…” I am following in our Timberlands Manager, Dennis Creel’s footsteps and currently serving on the OFRI Board of Directors. OFRI is state-governed agency, but funded from harvest tax that the forest products industry pays. I’m proud to be part of something that takes […]
Have you heard about the new SLB?
The new industry-funded Softwood Lumber Board (“SLB”) is set to promote softwood lumber products in outdoor, residential, and non-residential construction. A majority of softwood lumber companies doing business in the U.S. voted to approve the creation of a check-off system to fund a unified lumber promotion effort. The “check-off” program, which has been used by […]
Don’t Touch the Old Growth!
I am seeing some positive signs in the U.S. housing market and am hopeful that demand for lumber will improve over the next few years. Pacific Northwest (PNW) timber availability is concerning me. Despite numerous credible studies showing standing timber inventories growing year after year, environmental extremists continue to push their agenda through litigation and […]
Looking back. Looking ahead.
As I compose my first blog, I am thinking about the reality of being in this business. Manufacturing is a tough business to be in. Our competitors are fierce. Our high profile resource is TREES. Our customers build and remodel homes. And last, but by far not least, our business is dangerous. That reality has […]
