12A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2015 Timber:&RPSDQLHVVWUXJJOHWR¿QG\RXQJUHFUXLWV tition. “Where you have fewer The potential impact on land- buyers from distinct compa- owners — in terms of the prices nies, you have lower prices,” they would obtain for logs — is Mendell said. determined by the number of The combination with Plum Weyerhaeuser acres and mills in Creek would also give Weyer- their vicinity, Mendell said. haeuser the opportunity to buy 7KRVHZKR¿QGWKHPVHOYHV more sawmills, he said. surrounded by Weyerhaeuser As a real estate investment forests and near its mills could trust, or REIT, the company is be negatively affected because able to forgo federal corporate the company will likely prior- WD[HV DV ORQJ PRVW SUR¿WV DUH itize processing its own logs passed along to shareholders rather than buying them on the and non-timber assets represent open market, he said. less than 25 percent of the value “It really depends where of their total holdings. the acres are relative to a given 3OXP &UHHN¶V PDQXIDFWXU landowner,” Mendell said. ing assets represent much less Optimally, landowners than 25 percent of its holdings, SUR¿W PRVW ZKHQ WKH\¶UH QHDU VR E\ PHUJLQJ ZLWK WKDW ¿UP several mills that compete for :H\HUKDHXVHU¶V SURSRUWLRQ logs, he said. If several mills of non-timber assets will fall, are owned by the same compa- Mendell said. ny, though, that reduces compe- “When you bring them to- Continued from Page 1A gether, Weyerhaeuser has more room,” he said. A sawmill buying spree is speculative at this point, as the FRPSDQ\ZRXOG¿UVWIXOO\LQWH grate with Plum Creek and re- duce overlapping costs, he said. Forestlands owned by fam- ilies are also insulated from some of the turmoil in the log market because they often have other income source and can avoid selling when prices are ORZ VDLG *UHJ )URKQ 3DFL¿F Northwest regional manager for the Forest2Market timber LQGXVWU\FRQVXOWLQJ¿UP As a result, the trees are generally harvested on a lon- ger rotation and are considered higher quality, he said. “Those small landowners play an important role in the supply chain,” Frohn said. “You have a much larger diam- eter tree on average.” Competing sawmills may also seek to build closer rela- tionships with small landown- ers to ensure a steady supply of logs, Mendell said. “There could be a business opportunity there.” ,W¶VSRVVLEOHWKDW:H\HUKDH user consolidating timberland will make Weyerhaeuser the dominant employer of loggers in some regions, reducing com- petition for their services, he said. 6RPHORJJLQJ¿UPVIDYRUHG by Weyerhaeuser may displace others, but this “realignment” LVQ¶WH[SHFWHGWRSXWPDQ\ORJ gers out of work, said Frohn. Currently, the bigger worry IRU ORJJLQJ FRPSDQLHVLV¿QG ing enough young recruits to re- place retiring workers, he said. ³7KDW¶VPRUHWKHFKDOOHQJH´ Timber companies to join forces The pending $8 billion merger between Weyerhaeuser and Plum Creek will create a company with more than 13 million acres of timberland in 20 states. Timber acres 0-250,000 251,001-500,000 500,001-750,000 750,001-1 million Greater than 1 million Sources: Weyerhaeuser; Forisk Research Quarterly Alan Kenaga/ Capital Press Redo: Estimated cost ranges from $2.8 million to $3.2 million walks will complete the proj- ect. :KLOH FLW\ RI¿FLDOV KDG Utility providers include KRSHGWRKDYHDOOZRUN¿QLVKHG 3DFL¿F 3RZHU &HQWXU\/LQN by Memorial Day, they are now and Charter Communications. asking the general contractor to Water and sewer are public util- achieve “substantial comple- ities. tion” by that time. The estimated cost of the May 27 is the “key paving project ranges from $2.8 mil- date,” when all the asphalt and lion to $3.2 million. The cost of curbs need to be laid — ahead a bond for a project so expen- of Memorial Day — “so that sive may prohibit some smaller, the road could be opened and local contractors from bidding used,” McDowell said. on the project, McDowell said. The project is scheduled to However, the city will supply continue for about 30 days af- local companies with infor- terward, for the contractor to mation about the general con- put in the rest of the sidewalks, tractors bidding on the project. landscaping and electrical That “gives local contractors hook-ups, he said. the opportunity to know who to The city will replace the ex- contact” about subcontracting isting sewer main, water main, opportunities, he said, which is force main and storm drainage better than waiting until the job along North Holladay and con- is awarded and then trying to nect existing sewer and water “get in” as a subcontractor. service to the new water and “The only way they can re- sewer main. The project details ally work on the project is to get installation of underground a subcontracting opportunity, vaults and conduits for conver- VRWKDW¶VZK\LW¶VNH\WKH\FRQ sion of the existing overhead tact the general contractors,” utilities — electrical, telephone McDowell said. “Everything and cable — to underground is public record. We just have Katherine Lacaze/EO Media Group utilities. WRPDNHVXUHWKH\¶UHORRNLQJDW New pavement and side- the public record.” This diagram depicts new sidewalk, crosswalk and other improvements coming to a section of North Holladay Drive. Continued from Page 1A 1605 SE Ensign Lane Warrenton, OR 503-861-1144 LumsToyota.com APR financing through Toyota Financial Services (TFS) with approved credit. 0% APR financing for 60 months with $16.67 per $1,000 borrowed on new: 2015 & 2016 Corolla, 2015 & 2016 Camry (Gas and Hybrid), 2015 Prius c and Liftback (Two), 2015 Avalon (Gas and Hybrid), 2015 RAV4, 2015 Venza, and 2015 Sienna, tier 1+ and 1 only. 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