Thur., Jan. 26, 1961 The Newl-Review, Roseburg, Ore. 11
Tioife Prarticed
cD
Importance In Competitive
Market Of Getting Highest
Value From Forests Noted
HUGE BULLDOZERS of Hansen Bros. Logging Co., contractors, are shown cutting a
swath and pushing through a logging road into new timber developments of United
States Plywood Corp. 'in the rugged mountains of the Canton Creek Unit, northeast
from Steamboat. (Staff pictures)
DIETRICH IffJ- t 4J JiZ W fct? '-C4y-;-4 Vr 3J
HEAVY LOGGING EQUIPMENT of William Dietrich, logging contractor, hoists huge
logs around like match sticks at the 3,500-foot level on Chilcoot Mountain operations
of U. S. Plywood. Logs brought in by high Ines from o spor pole are stacked for load
ing onto trucks by the above loader.
Helicopter
Itesecding cutover forest lands
has come a Jong way since Um
bermcn started the practice of re
forestation to provide for future
generations. Methods have includ
ed broadcasting the seed by hand,
planting of trees grown in nurser
ies and seeding by air.
Bent Gerdes, vice president and
forester for Perpetual Forests,
Inc.. Eugene, pointed to a riecal
on the side of the new. modern
helicopter, used in aerial seeding
of United States Plywood's opera
tions on the North Umpqua and
Little River watersheds in late
Ivovember.
The decal shows a helicopter in
flight, with a man leaning over the
side throwing out Douglas fir seed
by the hands full.
Methods Changed
"That's the way we used to do
it," said Gerdes. "It was a two
man operation. One sat at the con
trols. The other broadcast the seed
bv hand from an open cockpit.
Kvcrvthing was open. There waj
no protection for the pilot or help
er at all."
Gerdes and the pilot, Dale Ko
ponen, explained new develop
ments. Seed is placed in compart
ments on either side of the plane.
However, sometimes seeds treated
with rodent killer are put in one
compartment to be broadcast at
the same time.
The helicopter pilot, inside a
plastic-enclosed cockpit, sits at the
controls and manipulates equip
ment for broadcasting the seed as
it passes from the compartments
through tubes to a spinning device.
This spinning unit can be lowered
beneath the landing skids when
ihe helicoDter is in flight. The
M'eds are broadcast evenly as the i " 1 1
n the InnrflUOne
auuui viiin na.i.-. ... .......
covering approximate 73-foot strips
wun eacn pas. im-ii n int:,
cross flights to assure adequate
coverage.
The" scene on Monday, Nov. 28.
was cutover timberland of V S.
Plvwood up Cavitt Creek. This
slream runs generally south from
"
Little Kiver. ine eievanon raneea;. r ri T r . , ,, 1 involves numerous problems and hunting on its lanrts in season.
from 1. 300 to 2.000 feet. Light'" ' ' . 'requires special study to assure i Otherwise the problem would be
snow, fast melting, covered the Soon I Hot fcoponen came in for value received. It is still in the j more accule. There also is an elk
mountains. ! landing, to refuel and replenish , experimental staKe. Frequently i herd on Red Butte, transposed
Directs Reeedina i seed supply and to eat lunch : t,al aml error provl()e the only there from western Douglas Coun-
llomer Hildenbrand. U.S. Ply-, As the craft approached, the still , soullon r . tv
wood s logcing superintendent, ?ir was cut by the whirring rotor Special studies first are mallei "The type of seed to sow must
was there directing flight patterns "lades creating a mild tornado. of the amis to hc rPSeed'd. Fori be studied. The north slopes usual
fur reseeding. Also on hand were ; everything moveable close by.f.S. Plywood, this special study , lv present little problem for Ihe
(irval r.eese. Lime niver unii'"H
supervisor
and Don Wright log
manufacture supervisor
Lee Butler, the company's log
coordinator, and this reporter ar
rived at the scene alongside a lug.
gins road shortly before noon. The
men were gathered around a bon -
fire eating lunchtnd drinking enf-!
fee brewed on a camp stove ail, .
except the helicopter pilot. In the
distance would be heard the whirr
of the motor, as the plane system!-
tically reseeded denuded lands.
Reseeds Forest
V:'2Jk - ".'MmJ Ui ill '-"WWUm A! idiiiAntr ril thfimimtniaWL
HOMER HILDENBRAND, U. S. Plywood's logging superin
tendent, stands beside the modern helicopter of Perpetuol
Forests, Inc., Eugene, which reseeded 2,200 acres of the
company's cutover lands in early December. Seeds placed
in containers on either side ore fed through tubes to o
rotating broadcast device, which drops below the londing
skids of the 'copter.
The day was perfect for flying
and seeding, commented Gerdes.
Not a breath of air stirred. He
proved this with a wind indicator
so sensitive his breath sent a tiny
ball inside rapidly to the top.
"We sat around all last week
wailing for a break in the weath
er." he stated. "That's the way
with this business. You might
have to wait several days for the
right kind of weather. But it pays
off in safety and getting the job
Brief Opentioo
This actual job of aerial -seeding
takes only a short time. The
2.200 acres of U.S. Plywood's cut
over lands on Cavitt Creek. Red
Butte and Canton Creek were seed
ed in two days. The areas seeded
- 1 I ito n u. ..I.. I.
about, including 1 h e i' conducted by Dick Hanlui . gi ad
and pot of freshly llate forest,.r from tle University
ramp stove
jrewed coffee. Water had to be re-, of Washington. He has boon con-! troublesome. Experiments are be
heated for the pilot s drink. I ducting stocking and condinon sur-l ing made by seeding these with
The S42.0OO helicopter was sl veys prior to going into the aerial ponderosa and sugar pine,
down as lightly a: a bird lands, i seeding program. His job is to dc. It has long been a praclic" lo
kononcn. living for the comnanv terminp u'hat aroac nprH uli.it. leave seed hlorks nn hich limr
six years, said learning to flv a
helicopter is more difficult than to i
fly a plane, as it requires more
attention to controls. Gerdes. ;ilso. I
has been with the company six)
years. It was started 10 years ato.
using the crudest of equipment. Ae-
rial seeding has since developed
into a science.
Seed Expensive
Seed, actually, is the costliest
part of the operation. It costs about
$16 a pound, varying to some ex
tent. One half pound is required
to seed an acre of land. The seed
is chemically treated with a ro
dent repellant. Sometimes rodent
killers are sown along with Ihe
Douglas fir seed. The seeds also
are covered with aluminum paint.
partly for identification as treated
seed and partly as protection from
rodents or bids until the seeds can
become lodged in the sod lo ger-
m'n,,,e-
After reservicing. with fuel and
seed supply, the pilot revved up;ance, browsing deer can rum a
his engine and look off. I stand in short order, if not con-
Reforestation, said Hildenbrand,
His findings are coordinated with
those of the foresters.
Problems Presented
What to do with a denuded moun -
lain becomes the problem. There
is a right and wrong time to re-
seed. Cutoyer lands soon become
Timber management, a term
heard often today in discussions
among leaders of forest industries.
takes on added significance in a
highlv competitive market, consid
ering that proper managing of tim
ber holdings may mean the differ
ence of success or failure.
The age of "cut out and get out"
is ended. There are no more tim
ber bonanzas for the venturesome
lumberman to buy up cheaply.
take out the cream and move on
to new holdings. Today, most tim
ber is either in the hands of large
owners or the state and federal
government, the latter available
only to the highest bidders in state.
forest bervice or Bureau of Land
management sales.
.Numerous consolidations or out
right purchases of smaller com
panies oy larger ones, with limber
the prime object of the sale, are
taking place. It is necessary, there
fore, for timber owners to manage
well their forests, lest they find
their stands depleted with no place
else to go.
Complex Problem
hound management involves the
complex program of timber buying,
determining which stands to cut
first, building adequate roads into
the forest areas, cutting and log
ging to yield maximum harvests
from a timber tract. Then comes
forest perpetuation. The slash
must be burned and the lands re-
seeded to produce a new timber
crop. This requires studies by
trained technicians to balance
costs with harvest returns.
importance of forest perpetua
U. S. Plywood Operations'
Tour Reveals New Methods
Of Present-Day Forestry
By LEROY B. INMAN
Business News Dept. Editor
"We like to think of a forest as
a crop the lands to be properly
developed, the timber economical
ly harvested, the slash disposed of,
then the lands to be replanted to
grow forests for future genera
tions." This was the comment of Homer
Hildenbrand, logging superintend
ent for United States Plywood. He
was discussing the many facets of
timber management with this re
porter in a recent tour of his com
pany's logging operations in the
North Umpqua and Little River
drainages.
"You've got to have an oper
ational plan and stick to it," he
added. He explained the need for
a logging plan for most efficient
log production, a road plan for eco
nomical woods development, a
slash plan for slash burning at
the proper time, and a plan for re
forestation. We bounced along in the com
pany's pickup over a portion of
U.S. Plywood's 200 miles of road
network high in the mountains of
the Canton Creek unit northwest
of Steamboat. We drove over
Thunder Mountain from the North
Umpqua River side onto Little Riv
er, then visited cutover areas of
Red Butte far to the south.
Forestry Discussed
Along the way, Hildenbrand
pointed out the various timber
tracts and explained why certain
sections Were to be cut, while oth
ers were left to stand and mature.
He discussed methods of cutting
and plans for use of cutover lands.
He talked about salvage opera
tions in tracts logged several years
ago, of cleaning up these lands
and plans for reseeding in areas
lo be certified as tree farms. He
told why it is necessary to do aer
ial seeding before sod and brush
cover get started.
Today, there is considerably less
debris left on the ground after a
well-managed logging operation is
completed than there was in yean
gone by. Many logs formerly left
to rot or be burned are now being
brought into the mills to obtain
whatever useful products that can
be cut for maximum returns, he
nointed out.
"A lame company cannot af
ford to leave useable timber in Ihe
forests, considering stumpage costs
tuday." said Hildenbrand.
Suund
management of timber holdings is
essential to economic operation.
A log is salvageable it lv per
cent of u is goon, ne saio. tops or
.... . . -in.
covered with, brush and often a
tough grass sod. These not only
vie lor the loon aim moisture in
lhe ji but makc jt difficult for
! tne jir seed t0 (lnd a soil bed for
I germination and growth,
Kodents and birds eat their
'share of the sown seed. Then when
i the green trees make the,ir appear-
trolled. U.S. Plywood permits
growing of Douglas fir trees. It s
for natural reseeding. Often quite j
i large areas of jmaller trees in a:
i tract being logged are left in what j
! is known as a delayed setting,
both to permit natural regenera l
turn and for delayed cutting until
these trees become more mature,
tion is recognized, despite costs
and the fact those who establish
tree farms may never themselves
reap returns. It takes 20 lo 60
years to grow a new forest to har
vestablc size. There are many en
emies along the way. Rodents and
birds may eat the seed. Deer or
elk browse on the young growth.
Fire may wipe out the new forest
before it reaches maturity. But
large companies, realizing "the im
portance of forest perpetuation,
pour thousands of dollars into the
program annually.
Economy Stressed
Economical harvesting is still
the most important phase of the
forest industry. When should a
tract be cut? Should it be clear
cut or selectively cut? What logs
should be hauled to the mills for
lumber or plywood manufacture?
Which, because of rot or damage,
should be left in the mountains to
be burned? How small a tree or
top can be handled economically?
These questions and many more
must be answered in proper lim
ber management.
We who live in timber country,
though dependant upon the wood
products industries for our econo
my, take very much for granted
the huge lumber or plywood plants.
We may even complain about log
ging trucks on the highways or
criticize lorest depletion. But talk
to the men engaged in tlie overall
operation. They present an entire
ly different picture of what it
means to keep going a large oper
ation, so important to the commu
nity's welfare.
poles down to six inches are con
sidcrcd worth hauling to the mills
Salvage operations have proved
economically feasible on logged
lands of U. S. Plywood s predeces
sors Associated Plywood, Youngs
Bay Lumber Co. End Western Bat
tery, purchased in the last decade
Conservation Important
Hildenbrand, a government for
ester before he became employed
oy private industry, sees tne pu-
ture of both forest conservation
and economic harvesting of a tim
ber crop. He has had more than
20 years of forestry work. Starting
with the Forest Service, he then
joined Associated Plywood Co. and
later was for several years chief
forester for Ihe Oregon division of
United States Plywood, before
coming to Rosebure nearly two
years ago as logging superintend
ent for the company's Roseburg
operations.
It is bis job to manage the har
vest and reproduction on -45.000
acres of U.S. Plywood's timber
lands lying in Ihe North Umpqua
and Little River drainages and on
Reston Ridge, west of Roseburg in
the Coast Range. These holdings
are supplemented by Bureau of
Land .Management and Umpqua
Forest Service timber purchased
on open bid. Timber cut from the
combined holdings are fed into the
hungry jaws of the company's
large sawmill, its plywood plant
and veneer plant at Roseburg, and
to the sawmill at Green prior to
its closure last spring because of
the depressed lumber market.
Millions Spent on Roads
Evidence of the need for sound
timber management and economi
cal operation is pointed up by one
fact alone the road program of
this vast operation. U.S. Plywood
expended close lo SI .000,000 for
forest roads during I960, pushing
through 40 miles of new construc
tion in some of the ruggest moun
tains in the Cascades.
When these costs are added to
those of logging, trucking, and mill
ing the logs and marketing the
finished product, it is understand
able when the company takes a
long look before throwing addi
tional cash into tree farms when
Ihe returns are in the far distant
future. Reforestation comes only
after careful studies by trained
technicians.
Tour Start. At Mill
Our tour started with a visit to
the company's Roseburg log pond.
.Ill
W(. drove hetwcen lhe py.
wood nlanl. built in 1957-58, and
the sawmill. The sawmill was pur
chased by U.S. Plywood, along
with the timber holdings of Youngs
Kay and Associated Plvwood and
the lalter's sawmill at Green
We stopped next at lhe forestry
office, a convcrlea residence on ki
fie Range Road, and there met
Dick Hanlm, Hovel Gluesing, log
accountant, and Shirley Enckson,
office assistant.
llanlin, a graduate forester from
Ihe University of Washington, is
charged with map work, timber
studies and appraisals. He is cur
rently conducting stocking and con
dition surveys of all cutover lands
prior to their reseeding and certifi
cation as tree farms.
This office must determine what
government timber to bid on. which
areas are to be developed and
what the road program is to he,
Hildenbrand explained. In 1959 the
company's cut was almost 100 per
cent on its own timber. But during
1900 the cut was about 50 per cent
from company and 50 per cent
from government land. The timber
is integrated depending upon its
availability and the best possible
utilization.
The 40 miles of new roads built
during I960 included 22 miles nn
company land, 4' miles on BLM
CLEAR CUTTING PRACTICES are used by U. S. Plywood. Homer Hildenbrand, logging
superintendent points to logged area on Red Butte where o future forest will be grown.
These lands, after slosh burning, were reseeded by helicopter in eorly December.
SLASH READY TO BURN This tract of U. S. Plywood on Chilcoot Mountain at the
3,000-foot level was logged last summer. Slash is ready to burn. Experimentally, the
small timber Was. taken put first to prevent damage to the understory stand when the
large timber was cut. Logging costs will be checked to determine 'if the extra timber
salvaged will offset the added cost of prelogging. Seed blocks are shown in the distance.
lands and 13 miles on forest serv
ice lands.
Explains Woods Operations
As we left Roseburg and headed
up the North Umpqua River, Hil
denbrand further explained the
woods operations. Company lands
are divided into three administra
tive units, under separate super
Visors. Don Gingery i is forester in
charge of the Canton Creek Unit.
Orval Reese supervises the Little
River Unit, winch takes in Thun
der Mountain, Red Butte and the
formerly separate Cavitt Creek ar
eas. The Reston Ridge unit is man
aged from the Roseburg office.
Don Wright supervises log manu
facture and recovery of logs from
cutover lands. Tom Shrum is log
ging engineer, in charge of laying
out roads, and Bud Shrum is as
sistant engineer. Lee Butler, log
coordinator, sees that the proper
logs get lo Ihe right place at the
right time for lumber or plywood
manufacture.
Surveys Partially Completed
Stocking and condition surveys of
logged areas are now about 15 per
cent completed. Cutover lands of
the former Associuleu i'lywowi on
Thunder Mountain have been desig
nated as a tree farm. The com
pany is in the process of having
all cutover lands certified as tree
farms. Aerial seeding was conduct
ed on 2,200 acres on Canton Creek,
on Red Butte and Cavitt Creek
drainages early in December.
At Steamboat we turned left, fol
lowing Steamboat Creek lo Canton
Creek, again turning left traveling
in northwesterly direction. The
company has vast holdings in this
area, augmented with govern
ment limber. Large developments
are under way. A vast network of
roads are being pushed into un
developed areas lo harvest the
timber.
Three or four miles up Canton
Creek wo turned left once again
onto one of the mountain logging
roads, constructed to standards
suitable for use by logging trucks
bearing loads in excess of HO.iKIO
pounds. These standards vary. The
BL.M and Forest Service require
grades of not more than 8 per cent,
except in unusual cases where dis
pensation is granted. U.S. I'lywood
sometimes uses grades as steep as
12 to 15 per cent for very short
distances when economy dictates
and if lesser grades would be ex
tremely difficult to achieve.
We drove by several areas of
cutover mountainsides near Coon
I Creek, then turned onto a new
road, which Henry Harden of Han
sen Bros., contractors, was con
structing. He and one other mun
with SilO.OOO bulldozers were push
ing through a road that would
1 take months to build by many men
using less conventional methods.
W'e backtracked, .then continued
i on around the mountain on another
I series of roads which Arne Hansen
I is pushing into the Wolverine
Creek area. This road will open
up vast tracts of virgin limber
i which covers the steep canyon
slopes like a curtain of green.
Visit Chilcoot Area
Far to the north could be seen
the logging operations and road
construction of Bill Dietrich, con
tractor, on Chilcoot Mountain. This
area we next visited. We returned
to Canton Creek, drove past an
area being considered for develop
ment by the BLM as a park ioid
turned onto another road up the
steep mountain slope toward Chil
coot. Halfway up the high, rugged
mountain, 'we slopped to cat our
lunches ulongside a freshly logged
show at about the 3,000-fool eleva
tion. This section had been experi
mentally pro-logged of all trees of
18 inches in diameter and under
down to six inches top diameter
by light equipment to prevent the
destruction of this understory
stand when the large trees were
felled. Then heavy equipment came
in and took out the old growth
timber. The test was to determine
whether this practice is economi
cal by the saving of the smaller
trees, much of which are destroyed
when the large trees are cut. It
leaves less slash lo be burned and
the land in better condition for
aerial seeding.
U.S. Plywood usually clear-culs
its land. Hildenbrand said he be
lieves this the only practical solu
tion where most of the limber is
old growth. Selective cutting is
difficult on steep slopes, because
of damage to timber led standing
and difficulty of gelling around on
the grounds. However, small sec
lions of overripe timber may be
removed from an area prcaomi'
nateiv second erowth.
We continued on up Chilcoot
to new operations of Dietrich, then
headed back down to lhe North
Umpqua and westerly lo the Smith-1
Ford Bridge. We crossed here and
followed the road up and over
Thunder Mountain. As we traveled,
Hildenbrand explained new think
ing alone timber management
lines, which have paid off hand
somely in view of high stumpage
costs.
Maximum yield per acre is s
must, lie pointed (o cutover lands
of Associated Plywood on Thunder
Mountain and showed where sal
vage operations have been con
ducted. Logs Jell on the ground to
rot or trees of marginal use left
standing have been taken out. if
thev are 25 per cent useable. Most
of "these are cut in the sawmill,
hut some is used in utility grade
veneer. Everything was cut, in
cluding snags and poles. This land
has been designated a Iree farm.
U.S. Plywood's logging road
over Thunder Mountain, little more
than a trail in some places, is
still maintained for fire protection
i and tree larni in-pection. II leads
) out onto Little River.
Wn traveled uo Little River.
Ihen crossed lhe stream, heading
generally south towards Red Butte
We drove over many miles of com
panvowned forest road network,
crisscrossing the area and leading
upward to an area where 1,000
DeMoisy Heads
U.S. Ply Here
Ralph G. DeMoisy is Eeneral
pianager of the Roseburg opera
tions of United States Plywood
Corp.
These operations include - the
Roseburg sawmill, formerly
Youngs Bay Lumber Co.; the ad
jacent plywood plant, built in 1957-
58; The Roseburg Veneer plant of
the former Western Battery ' sep
arator Co., and the Green Saw
mill (temporarily closed) of the
former Associated Plywood Co.
Included also are logging opera -lions
on some 4d,000 acres of
company timber lands on the
North Umpqua and Little River
drainages and on Reston Ridge in
the Coast Range, , ,
Directly under DeMoisy are R.
J. (Dick) Moore, plywood and ve
necr manager; Robert Gibson,
Roseburg sawmill manager; . Al
Coffman, personnel and safety di
rector; Homer Hildenbrand. log
ging superintendent, and William
R. Mickey, purchasing, engineer
ing and construction.
Under Moore are Joe Micholich,
plywood superintendent, and Carl
Dykcman, veneer plant foreman.
Under Gibson are Harvey Speck,
lumber sales manager, and Ken
Smith, plant superintendent.
acres of clear-cut land lays in a
checkerboard pattern.
While Red Butte, like Thunder
Mountain, is mostly cutover, it is
not forgotten. Roads are maintain
ed. A large part of Red Butte's de
nuded lands were reseeded in ear
ly December. Young trees from
natural reseeding are already seen
in many places, pushing up in
strong, steady growth. It has long
been the practice to leave small
patches of trees as seed blocks on
higher elevation fur natural regen
eration. U.S. Plywood also is experiment
ing on certain tracts, where about
25 per cent of the timber stand
is taken out, the accumulated slash
is burned and the remainder of
the trees are left for natural re
generation. The trees that are left
are taken out later when the new
forest has started. The company
is one of the first to try this prac
tice. Its results are yet to be
learned.
On our return from the moun
lains towards Roseburg, we stop-,
ped at Ihe company's huge log
pond at Glide. U serves for winter
storage and to balance out the
supplies for the Roseburg pond.
See Stories
Page 14