Hard to believe, but wood use conserves forests
Two new reports by the National Alliance of Forest Owners must surely qualify for Ripley's "Believe It or Not" franchise.
NAFO's reports reveal that the more wood we use, the more trees forest owners grow. And that, the trade group says, has a profound effect on everyone, especially rural communities reliant on timber harvest and forest products manufacturing.
The first report details forest growth and removal by product, species and region. On the West Coast, for example, removals equaled just 2 percent of growing trees. Nationwide, forest owners grow 40 percent more wood than they harvest.
A second report finds that private working forests support 2.9 million jobs nationwide, generating $99 billion (with a "B") in payroll.
Over the past century, as a nation we have built millions of wood homes, raised thousands of wood power poles, laid millions of miles of rail with wood ties and published millions of books. Yet today our forests are as plentiful as they were in 1900. It's a fact: The more we use, the more economic incentive private forest landowners have to keep their lands in a forested condition.
Believe it or not,
Paul Barnum
Executive Director
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OFRI celebrates 25th anniversary
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Oregon Legislature creating OFRI to help inform the public about forests, forest management and forest products.
OFRI was founded during a time when Oregon's population had become increasingly more urban with lessening exposure to the forest products industry. Among the initial goals was filling a void for accurate forestry information available to the public, along with educating about Oregon's forest practices laws and reforestation requirements.
Twenty-five years later, OFRI continues a variety of efforts aimed to help the public better understand the social, environmental and economic importance of Oregon's forests. A focus on the general public, especially urbanites and newcomers to Oregon, hasn't changed. OFRI also continues to provide educational materials and trainings to family forest landowners and K-12 teachers and students. A nine-member staff with expertise in forestry, teacher education and communications develops programs, publications, educational advertising, videos, speaker presentations and informational websites targeting a range of audiences.
In recent years, OFRI has expanded public outreach efforts with a natural resources education program for fourth- through sixth-grade students at the Rediscovery Forest, a 15-acre demonstration forest the institute manages at The Oregon Garden, and a wood products promotion program funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. OFRI has also evolved its communication products in response to the rise of digital media, including producing more online videos, offering electronic copies of publications and engaging with the public on social media.
"OFRI has come a long way since it was first created in 1991, but our primary mission to promote a broad public understanding of forest management and the positive contributions of forest products to society remains the same," says OFRI Executive Director Paul Barnum. "I'm proud of our accomplishments over the past 25 years and look forward to seeing what we achieve in the future."
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Video makes case for building with wood
A new OFRI-produced video highlights the environmental benefits of wood construction and using wood products sourced from sustainably managed forests.
The five-minute "
Forest to Frame
" video seeks to enhance public understanding of how building more structures with wood helps address pressing global challenges such as population growth and climate change. Because wood stores carbon, increased use could help fight climate change, says OFRI Director of Forest Products Timm Locke.
"Wood buildings are essentially huge carbon storage units," he says. "This fact alone is causing more and more architects, engineers, developers and policymakers to take a fresh look at building with wood."
The video debuted at the Forest Products Society's 70th International Convention on June 27-29 in Portland, and can be viewed on OFRI's YouTube page. It points out how advanced wood products such as glulam and cross-laminated timber (CLT) are allowing architects and engineers to use wood for structural components in an increasing number of commercial structures, including mid-rise and high-rise buildings. Project teams are developing all-wood and hybrid building designs that address seismic and fire safety requirements, and building codes are starting to recognize these applications of wood.
Oregon has emerged as an epicenter for the wood-building movement, with dozens of projects underway across the state, including several using CLT in structural applications. "There are plenty of good reasons to build with wood, and we see a ton of value in the momentum building in this state for wood buildings," Locke says. "We hope this new video contributes to that momentum."
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Forest tour discusses timber harvests
More than a dozen elected officials from across Oregon visited private and federal forestland in Douglas County to learn about different timber harvest methods during an informational tour hosted by the OFRI board last month.
State legislators and county commissioners were among the approximately 65 people who attended the board's annual tour for elected officials and opinion leaders on July 14. Other participants included community leaders, state staffers, state legislator candidates, a congressional staffer and members of the news media.
This year's tour centered on the theme of OFRI's latest special report, Not So Clear-Cut, and "Harvest Methods in Oregon" video series. Both discuss how timber harvests vary depending on the forest type, forest owner and management objective.
The tour made three stops near Camas Valley, southwest of Roseburg. The first stop was at an active Roseburg Forest Products clearcutting harvest to discuss private forest management and the state laws governing private timber harvests. The second stop was at a completed Bureau of Land Management variable-retention harvest where forest managers explained how the harvest method balances timber production with protecting threatened wildlife such as the northern spotted owl and creating habitat for migratory songbirds and other early seral species. The tour concluded on Lone Rock Timber Management Co. forestland that had been harvested and replanted with seedlings. Speakers there talked about reforestation, the use of herbicides to help regrow a new forest and creating wildlife habitat on forests managed for timber.
Several state legislators who shared their thoughts of the tour at its conclusion said they appreciated gaining an overview of the range of forest management objectives and timber harvest methods used in Oregon.
"In the state of Oregon, we have a lot of advantages," said Sen. Richard Devlin of Tualatin. "One of the advantages is we have our natural resources. That can mean they're managed for all kinds of uses."
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Projects in Portland, Springfield win
CLT design contest
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wo Oregon projects with plans to use cross-laminated timber
have won funding for research and testing through a state-sponsored design contest.
As winners of the Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) Design Contest, a parking garage in Springfield and condominium building in northeast Portland received a combined $200,000 in funding and research support aimed to fast-track the use of CLT as an environmentally friendly construction material.
The contest was sponsored by Oregon BEST, a nonprofit that assists clean-tech startups with developing new products and services through partnerships with academic researchers. It is supported by Business Oregon, the state's economic development agency.
The proposed four-story Glenwood Parking Structure in Springfield took top honors in the contest and received $155,000 for research, performance testing and code documentation. Carbon 12, a planned eight-story, mixed-use condo complex in Portland, was the contest's runner-up. The project, which will be the tallest CLT building in the U.S. when completed, was awarded $45,000 for acoustic and moisture testing.
Research and testing results should help these and other proposed CLT projects overcome building code hurdles that have slowed adoption of the material, says Johanna Brickman, director of collaborative innovation at Oregon BEST. "The two winning projects demonstrate the breadth of CLT use, and the research results will benefit future projects in our region and advance the state's leadership position in sustainable built environment innovation."
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Applicants sought for OFRI board
OFRI is seeking qualified applicants to serve on its board of directors.
The Oregon state forester will fill three upcoming board vacancies for small, medium and large timber producers, as well as finding a board member to represent forest-sector employees.
By law, the state forester appoints 11 of OFRI's 13 board members. Two other members serve ex officio, the dean of the Oregon State University College of Forestry and a public representative appointed jointly by the president of the Oregon Senate and the speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.
Board representatives include forest products producers of varying size that pay harvest taxes to support OFRI's programs. The board also contains one member representing small woodland owners and an hourly wage employee of a forest products producer or a person who represents such employees. Producer class specifications include:
- Class 1 - Producers of less than 20 million board feet per year
- Class 2 - Producers of at least 20 million board feet per year, but less than 100 million board feet per year
- Class 3 - Producers of at least 100 million board feet per year
Those interested in serving on the OFRI board for a three-year term starting in January 2017 can request application materials from Kathy Storm at
[email protected]
or 971-673-2953. Applications must be received by the state forester no later than 5 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2016.
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The Oregon Legislature created the Oregon Forest Resources Institute in 1991 to advance public understanding of forests, forest management and forest products and to encourage sound forestry through landowner education. A 13-member board of directors governs OFRI. It is funded by a portion of the forest products harvest tax.
Copyright © 2016, Oregon Forest Resources Institute. All Rights Reserved.
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See what OFRI's been up to on Facebook
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We've updated our
Facebook page, and are posting more outings and interesting articles than ever.
Check us out and give us a like!
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OFRI board appoints new chairman
Dave Furtwangler, president of Sweet Home-based Cascade Timber Consulting Inc., is now chairman of the Oregon Forest Resources Institute board of directors.
Furtwangler replaced outgoing chairwoman Jennifer Beathe during the July 15 board meeting. Beathe, a forester with Corvallis-based Starker Forests Inc., will continue to serve as a board member.
The 13-member board unanimously voted last spring for Furtwangler to become the new chairman. He previously served as the board's vice-chairman. Board members also approved appointing Quincy Powers as the new vice-chairman. Powers is president of Powers Ranch Co., a fourth-generation cattle ranch and tree farm in Coos and Curry counties.
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Tree genetics center celebrates anniversary
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he U.S. Forest Service's Dorena Genetic Resource Center - a regional service center for Pacific Northwest tree and plant genetics - is celebrating its 50th anniversary next month.
A celebration will be held Aug. 25 at the Cottage Grove-based center, 34963 Shoreview Road. The event will feature public tours of the center, which is known internationally for its programs to develop tree disease resistance to non-native pathogens.
The resource center houses disease-resistance breeding programs for five-needled pines and Port-Orford-cedar, and a native plant development program. It is also home to the Forest Service's National Tree Climbing Program.
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Nominations sought for Wood Design Awards
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WoodWorks
, an educational initiative of the Wood Products Council, is seeking nominations of non-residential and multi-family wood projects for its 2017 Wood Design Awards.
The deadline to submit nominations is Sept. 30, 2016. The awards celebrate excellence in wood design, engineering and construction, as well as innovative projects that showcase attributes of wood such as strength, beauty, versatility, cost-effectiveness and sustainability.
WoodWorks is seeking nominations in the following categories: Multi-family Wood Design, Commercial Wood Design - Low-Rise, Commercial Wood Design - Multi-Story, Wood in Schools, Institutional Wood Design, Green Building with Wood, Beauty of Wood and Wood in Government Buildings.
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Forest ed program schedules fundraiser
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Forest stewardship education program
Forests Today & Forever
will host its third annual Soiree & Silent Auction Sept. 15 in Eugene.
Registration
is now open for the event, which will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at Sweet Cheeks Winery, 27007 Briggs Hill Road.
It will feature live music from the band Keltocalypse, hors d'oeuvres, wine, raffle prizes and a silent auction.
Tickets are $15. All proceeds from the event and auction will support Forests Today & Forever's educational efforts to connect young people to Oregon's forests and promote appreciation of forest stewardship.
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Get Outside:
North Fork Trail
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