Beyond White Mountain by Courtney Woods

Circulating among those with a vested interest in forestry and forest health is a proposed thinning project on public lands that would be the largest of its kind in the U.S. Currently in the planning stages, the 4-Forest Restoration Initiative Project (4-FRI), would encompass up to a million acres of a 2.4 million acre expanse of ponderosa pine in northern Arizona. Involved would be the Coconino, Kaibab, Apache-Sit­greaves and Tonto National Forests. The project has broad-based support among environmental groups, industry, counties, local communities, tribal interests, small businesses, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and other stakeholders.

It is the scope of the project, and the proposed 20-year duration, that has captured the attention of local industry and potential new enterprises, speculating on the potential for production of oriented strand board, specialty products and fuel pellets. Planners agree there is significant risk involved, especially without allocations from

Promising Course

If participation by the equipment-service-supplies sector is any indication of participation by loggers, landowners, foresters, established mill and bioenergy representatives and others, then Timber & Biomass Expo Southeast is fixed on a promising course. Four weeks out, the exhibitor pool was made up of more than 60 manufacturers, major brands, equipment dealers and providers of services and supplies. (See ad, page 18.) One exhibitor, John Deere, is holding product training on-site the day before the event begins.

The show begins at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 11 and concludes the following afternoon. Show hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. both days. The show sponsor recommends that attendees be on-site early, especially on Saturday, since action traditionally begins winding down by early afternoon.

Solid Performer by Jennifer McCary

A mild winter and early snow melt significantly shortened the mud season in the Lake States region this year. Rob Nickels of Nickels Logging says it was the earliest spring breakup he’s seen in his 27 years in the business.

“This spring was the best we’ve ever had weather-wise, but the markets were terrible,” the 47-year-old owner reports. “Log markets were fine, but the pulp market was down because we had such an easy winter. I don’t think anybody missed a day of work because it was too cold or too wet, so that hurt us.” Some loggers, in fact, worked straight through breakup, decking logs to be ready when roads reopen.

Solid Performer by Jennifer McCary

A mild winter and early snow melt significantly shortened the mud season in the Lake States region this year. Rob Nickels of Nickels Logging says it was the earliest spring breakup he’s seen in his 27 years in the business.

“This spring was the best we’ve ever had weather-wise, but the markets were terrible,” the 47-year-old owner reports. “Log markets were fine, but the pulp market was down because we had such an easy winter. I don’t think anybody missed a day of work because it was too cold or too wet, so that hurt us.” Some loggers, in fact, worked straight through breakup, decking logs to be ready when roads reopen.

Timely Issues

At its annual meeting March 13-15 at Hilton Head, SC, the Forest Resources Assn. (FRA) adopted a formal position on the USDA Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP); pondered changes to the wood fiber supply chain being driven by the emerging wood-to-energy market; considered the impact of logging capacity as wood fiber demand accelerates; elected a new chairman in Dick Carmical; and honored several at an awards luncheon. About 170 members and guests participated.

After two days of debate, FRA’s Board of Directors unanimously passed a BCAP resolution that called for the contentious program to “focus on increasing supply without creating an unlevel playing field. The existing forest industry has a strong record of using bio-based energy, and that industry supports millions of people and thousands of communities, with family-wage jobs.” According to FRA, BCAP should promote underutilized sources, stimulate establishment of new forests, define biomass broadly and allow all purcha

Turning the Corner by Dan Shell

Working in southwest Washington and the lower Olympic Peninsula, Ed Bryant, owner of ENB Logging & Construction, operates two tower yarder sides and a shovel crew, working primarily for Port Blakely Tree Farms and Hampton Affiliates. He also operates five trucks.

Yet, after a good run of expanding markets and a growing business since 1997 and adding a second tower yarder crew in 2004, Bryant had seen enough by late ’09. With logging demand in the region at a minimum and mills of all types taking extended downtime or closing, too many loggers were chasing too little work.

New Products & Technologies

John Deere has released its E-Series wheeled harvesters and forwarders to North America following an initial launch in Europe. They’re designed with stronger frames than their predecessors and equipped with rotating and leveling cabs, offering 360˚ of visibility. The automatic air-conditioning of the new cab, top-quality upholstery, low noise and vibration levels and a wide range of additional accessories ensure first-class operation.

The four models in the E-Series harvester family include the 1070E, 1170E, 1270E and 1470E. The 1070E is available in a 4-wheel or a 6-wheel version. New generation harvester heads are part of the series, with the H414 developed especially for the 1170E, and the compact H412 compatible with the 1070E and 1170E.

Developments, Meetings

Using a cumbersome and often unreliable chain saw, and outfitted with little regard for their safety, a two-man felling team prepares to take down a tree on Gunnison National Forest in Colorado. One logging veteran of the period, speaking half tongue-in-cheek, recalls that such teams often had three early vintage saws at their disposal: “one running, one in the shop and one on the way.”

Logging Capacity and the Labor Dilemma by Jennifer McCary

In the last few years the ongoing energy crisis and economic turmoil, along with market consolidation and changes in timberland ownership, and all the related fallout, have slammed the aging logging ranks. Today, with logging capacity down by up to 30% in some sections of the nation’s forested landscape, with established markets improving and with new energy-related markets emerging, there is mounting concern in the procurement community over the near certain coming shortfall.

Many of the loggers left standing are confronted by another problem: labor. The pool of those willing to work in the woods or drive a truck is also dwindling, and it too is growing older. Where will tomorrow’s woodsmen come from and how will they develop the skills needed to satisfy increasingly technical and stringent performance demands?

Industry News

USDA Farm Service Agency reports that biomass producers, energy facilities and communities are benefiting from USDA’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). Through April 2, USDA has approved 4,605 agreements for the delivery of more than 4.18 million tons of biomass and paid eligible biomass owners $165,274,695 in matching payments under BCAP’s first phase.

BCAP authorizes USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to help those who own biomass by providing matching payments for the collection, harvest, storage and transportation of eligible biomass delivered to approved facilities to convert it to biofuels. FSA service centers across the country have issued payments of up to $45 per dry ton for eligible biomass deliveries.

BCAP is currently undergoing revision with regard to payment amounts and qualification criteria. Charts showing BCAP summary reports are at www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap.

Strong Heritage by Jennifer McCary

One hundred years ago in southwest Alabama, construction began on a new sawmill town by the son of Illinois lumberman Peter Vredenburgh. With his father’s $50,000 backing, Peter Vredenburgh Jr. purchased 200 acres of timberland straddling the Wilcox and Monroe County line and built a state-of-the-art sawmill and company village. He hired a professional gardener from Mobile to lay out the town and landscape a picture perfect town park, Main Street business and housing districts. Even today, the town is remarkably similar to the early 1900s photos of Vredenburgh’s business district.

By the mid-1920s second generation Vredenburghs, Peter III and Sellers, took on the leadership role in the company. They started buying timberland instead of leasing it so that the land could be managed properly and established a reforestation program. The brothers initiated many practical forest management guidelines reflecting their strong sense of stewardship toward both timber and wildlife resou