Hampton 2014: The Art of Giving
With 2014 coming to a close and the holidays upon us, it makes me think of what I have to be thankful for… and I have a lot to be thankful for. High on my list is working for a company that has so many people who think of other people first. Our sawmill employees […]
Throw Oregon’s rural economy under the bus to make a point?
I love the excitement expressed earlier this month by the Portland Tribune’s editorial boardfor Intel Corp’s plan to invest $100 billion in Washington County over 30 years. It gives me a thrill to know that an important portion of our state’s economy is making such a commitment. However, I am dismayed that the editorial board […]
Tooting your own horn or just the facts?
How do I communicate the good things happening in an organization for which I have leadership responsibility without sounding like I am patting myself on the back? It is really not that hard because most of the charitable activity goes on without any input or impetus from me. The forest products industry takes a bad […]
It’s all in the water…
Water quality is topic that catches the attention of a variety of folks. Oregon is unique in the U.S. with its approach to water quality: strong land use planning, science-based forest practices, and an army of local volunteers working on habitat restoration makes our state different. Oregon Forest Resource Institute (“OFRI”), created by the Legislature […]
Senator Wyden’s O&C Timber Bill
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on Senator Wyden’s O&C timberlands legislation earlier this month, a bill which the Senator introduced late last year and couched with, “Nobody will get all they want. Nobody will get all they think they deserve, but everyone will get what they need.” Testimony at the […]
Happy New Year & My Optimistic Wishes for 2014
That Oregon and Washington landowners who have been aggressively pushing increasing raw log volumes into the Chinese market wake up and realize the advantages of providing a reliable supply of logs to locally-owned domestic sawmills that provide family wage jobs and economic benefits to the communities in which they operate. These sawmills are good long-term […]
More Public Money Wasted
It was with a mix of sadness and “I told you so” when I read the November 13th article by Amelia Templeton of OPB documenting the local battle in Newport over the potential Asian raw log export yard largely for the benefit of a few out-of-state land owners. I testified last year at the Oregon […]
Where is the Crisis?
Recently Hampton has been hosting tours for the Oregon Board of Forestry members on our Big Creek tree farm. We observed healthy ecosystems where trees are growing, water conditions are perfect for fish and public needs, and other wildlife habitat is being preserved or enhanced. This outstanding tree farm does not come without hard work […]
Put out the fires and put our rural communities back to work!
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Doc Hastings (WA), just approved legislation (H.R. 1526) that re-institutes the Federal government’s commitment to actively manage our forests for sustainable and environmentally responsible timber harvests. Kudos to Congressmen Walden and Schrader (OR) for their leadership on this issue and to Congressman DeFazio (OR) for his bipartisan […]
Wood is good! And now wood is skyscraper strong!
The Softwood Lumber Board (“SLB”) sponsored an initiative with a prominent Chicago architectural firm, Skidmore Owings & Merrill (“SOM”), to establish the structural viability of a prototype 42-story mass timber framed building. The SLB is all about promoting the benefits and uses of softwood lumber in outdoor, residential, and non-residential construction and this project was […]
