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Recent changes have affected the lives of many and have been widely termed a crisis, yet this is not the first time that change has produced dislocation and complex problems. Science doesn’t support that. Timber Harvest History in Oregon The table above indicates the average annual timber harvest volume during each decade indicated (measured in billion board feet / year). During the post WWII era timber production dropped due to a variety of factors which will be examined below (Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest). Although a commonly abused myth is that Oregon timber harvest peaked during the 1980s, the data shows clearly that statewide harvest actually crested during the decades of the 1950s and 1960s. Oregon harvest this low is unprecedented since the depression-era 1930's. Actively managed forests are good for Oregon. That’s worth protecting. In 2016, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged to revitalize many of the country's most iconic blue collar industries. History & Innovation: Oregon’s Timber Industry 10/2/2019 – By Phil Morton, The Bottom Line — The timber industry has been a cornerstone of the Pacific Northwest economy since the 1880’s…From humble beginnings the timber industry flourished in the Pacific Northwest and plays a key role today in our modern economy. The industry has been changing since it began. In the late 19th century, the timber barons of the Lake States moved to capitalize on the timbered wealth of the West. The state’s soils and climate provide ideal conditions to grow such commercially viable species as Douglas fir and ponderosa pine. The timber industry is in every sense the epitome of a renewable resource. Oregon’s Timber Harvests: 1849-2004 1 Oregon’s Timber Harvests: 1849-2004 Preface There is over 150 years of history in the wood products industry in Oregon, beginning with the first known sawmill built west of the Mississippi River in 1827 near Fort Vancouver. Oregon Office of Economic Analysis 9 Flat Wages, Falling Premium • Timber-related jobs used to be great, paying a 30%+ premium compared to the average industry • Total industry wages accounted for 13% of statewide wages, approx. Oregon's real gross state product in 2012 was estimated to be $187,440 which was just about the national state average, $187,440. Settlers in the area This state dominates U.S. production of softwood lumber and plywood. The Register-Guard (Eugene, Oregon) Posted Feb 4, 2020 By Christine Sherk TIMBER ECONOMY: Oregon’s forests were the foundation of the state’s expansion as settlers came west and stayed to build their dreams. Between 1940 and 1990, Oregon harvest averaged 7 to 9 billion bi-annually. Oregon’s Forestry and Logging Industry: From Planting to Harvest by Brian Rooney October 20, 2020 Oregon is one of the world’s great tree-growing areas. Between the mill closure in Coos Bay, downsizing in Forest Grove, and the lively cap and trade discussions, there has been a renewed interest and focus on the timber industry in Oregon.Our office has fielded nearly a dozen requests recently to speak about the industry, historical changes and the outlook. Sandpoint, Idaho, has always been a timber town. In 1952, the peak year for timber harvest in western Oregon, about one-third of the 10.4 billion board feet harvested came from U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management land. They keep Oregonians in green, family wage jobs providing renewable wood products for the world. New timber centers developed around Tacoma and Grays Harbor, and the new mills used the railroads to ship lumber to an expanded national market. On that day, Midwestern lumber magnate Frederick Weyerhaeuser purchased 900,000 acres of land from the Northern Pacific railroad in the largest private land transaction in American history … The timber industry that took hold and grew in the West was To understand how we got to where we are today, it is helpful to take a brief look at history. Although Oregon forest growth exceeds timber harvest and we have more timber than we did in 1952, conflicting federal laws and logging prohibitions have stalled harvest. When Timber Unity supporters, largely white, multigenerational Oregonians, continue to speak to the threat to “our way of life,” they are invoking the white supremacist history of Oregon. The basic story of the timber industry is unchanged over time: cut trees down and turn them into lumber and other wood products. Benson had arrived in Oregon in 1879, after eleven years in Wisconsin learning English, store keeping, and the lumber business. Oregon ranked second in timber production, behind Washington, by 1905. For decades, Oregon’s history books have been missing a monumental piece of the state's past: the diversity hidden deep in the timber industry. Oregon is the leading provider of lumber in the United States; about one-tenth of the nation's timber can be found in the state. On state owned forestlands, almost all timber sales are sold through a … It started with the California Gold Rush’s demand for timber to build railroads and has grown to a multi-billion-dollar industry. They’re where native wildlife live and thrive. History - Sandpoint Idaho Timber Industry by Bob Gunter. ODF offers a number of ways to help keep Oregon forests healthy and working through contracting special forest services, timber sales, reforestation and other administrative tasks. Demonstrators with Timber Unity rally against cap and trade and in favor of President Donald Trump at the Oregon State Capitol on Feb. 6, 2020. 'Timber Wars': OPB looks back at environmentalists vs. timber industry, Local Features, Portland local Features, Breaking Features alerts for Portland city. They keep streams cool for fish and filter our drinking water. Oregon Forests Forever. This report traces the flow of Oregon’s 2003 timber harvest through the primary timber-processing industry and describes its structure, operations, and condition. During the 1880s the lumber industry was also transformed by major technological developments, particularly the donkey engine, patented in 1881. Even those who don’t like logging probably live in houses built using lumber from Oregon’s forests. Oregon Agriculture and Industry. The problem? O EM 8544 Reprinted January 1994 Flaxen D.L. On January 3, 1900, the timber industry in Washington underwent one of the biggest changes in its history. Oregon's connection to the timber industry is so tightly knit that casinos, high school mascots and coffee roasters take their names from mills, loggers and stumps. This share continued to expand, at times sporadically, until the national demand for lumber after World War II changed everything. Oregon has the 25th highest GSP out of the 50 states. Between 1900 and 1910, the Northwest's national share jumped from 8 to 20 percent. Oregon’s Timber History. Oregon’s Wood Product Manufacturing Industry Is Still Important, Especially in Rural Areas by Brian Rooney August 8, 2019 Once Oregon’s largest manufacturing industry, employment in the wood product manufacturing industry has gone through large, well-publicized losses since the early 1990s, with its employment dropping below computer and electronic manufacturing and food manufacturing. Posted on January 8, 2019 by Rasha Aridi. Pulp and board, lumber, and plywood and veneer sectors accounted for 96 percent of total industry sales of $6.7 billion. The spotted owl, officially listed as threatened in 1990, provided the timber industry with a scapegoat for the elimination of thousands of jobs in the preceding decades. Oregon’s 2003 timber Oregon's timber economy can be characterized by the words change, complexity, and challenge. Since the 19 th century, Oregon has relied on the timber industry to drive its economies. Sandpoint has always been a timber town. PORTLAND, Ore. -- The timber industry in Oregon and across the country is battered from an unresolved trade war with China and the COVID-19 pandemic. Adding to the general instability was the fact that the industry had become dependent on federal timber. Once upon a time the forests of the Pacific Northwest fueled the region both economically and culturally. The declining timber industry pitted various communities, industries and interest groups against one another. He soon began to buy timber lands near St. Helens and adjacent areas, eventually boasting an empire of 46,000 acres. In the fall of 1883, four property owners deeded part of their land to the Oregon and California Railroad for a depot and surrounding town. The advancement in the timber industry is no less dramatic than the advances in railroading. Today it is also a leader in engineered wood, and home to the first mill in the United States to manufacture structurally certified cross-laminated timber (CLT). Conway, Extension community Not all of Oregon’s timber history is pretty, but through trial and error, sustainability practices have become central to modern forest management. For decades, much of the blame for the downturn has been placed on the federal government’s decision to reduce logging in national forests. And there’s more. The History of Medford Destined to become the region’s largest city and a major economic hub, Medford began in 1883 when the railroad came to Southern Oregon. Timber helped build Oregon, but, since the 1990s, the state’s western counties have lost thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in annual revenue. The old steam mill has practically gone out of existence. They’re where we go to play. Oregon’s wood products industry is a traded sector, with close to 75 percent of all products made here sold outside the state. Oregon, with far more federal timberlands than other states, got nearly a third of that money - $105 million in 2012 alone. Read the full story to follow this colorful history. For decades, Oregon’s timber industry has promoted the idea that private, logged lands are less prone to wildfires. 46,000 acres has relied on the timbered wealth of the 50 States world. In timber production, behind Washington, by 1905 timber lands near St. Helens and areas... 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