Friday, March 5, 2021
CapitalPress.com 5
Fire, and now ice, batter
Oregon’s timber industry
Bill would allow workers to
enforce Oregon labor regulations
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Oregon’s timber industry
was already contending with
the aftermath of last year’s
fires when forestland own-
ers were recently hit with an
ice storm that snapped and
knocked over trees.
The double dose of
destruction is expected to
bring more damaged logs
onto the market at a time
when many loggers and
sawmills already have their
hands full, experts say.
Some mills have reduced
their log purchases to focus
on cutting trees from their
own properties, so it’s not an
ideal time to be selling sal-
vage timber, said Gordon
Culbertson,
international
development director at the
Forest2Market consulting
firm.
“You’d be competing
with all the logs already
on the market,” he said.
“There’s plenty of logs avail-
able right now.”
Though the ice wasn’t as
catastrophic overall as last
year’s wildfires, individual
landowners are “really dev-
astated” in specific areas,
said Roger Beyer, lobbyist
for the Oregon Small Wood-
lands Association.
Small woodlands are
often at lower elevations,
which sustained heavy dam-
age from ice because the
“cold air got trapped below
the warm air” in a range of
about 500 feet to 1,200 feet,
he said.
Ice-ravaged forest stands
may need to be clear-cut
and replanted, but landown-
ers may find damaged logs
aren’t merchantable, Beyer
said. “The mills are getting
pretty fussy. Mills have no
trouble finding logs now.”
Apart from the imme-
diate problem of downed
logs, trees whose tops
snapped off from the
weight of the ice pose
another conundrum.
While a branch from
below the break may form a
new top, the timber quality
is permanently diminished,
said Randy Hereford, pres-
ident and CEO of Starker
Forests, which owns about
90,000 acres of forestland
in Western Oregon.
“At that point, there’s
a defect in the tree when
it turns into a log,” Here-
ford said. “Those are weak
spots and they tend to break
again.”
Depending on the age and
the damage sustained by for-
est stands, landowners may
decide to log them and start
over rather than spend more
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press
Trees in Oregon’s Coast
Range were damaged in
the recent ice storm.
time growing defective trees,
he said.
“You’re triaging the dam-
age,” Hereford said.
However, harvest sched-
ules are difficult to change
at a moment’s notice, as for-
esters usually secure replace-
ment seedlings and make
other preparations long in
advance, he said.
“Forestry is flexible but
everything is planned,” Her-
eford said.
Toppled trees may be sal-
vageable but getting them to
the mill in a timely manner
is challenging due to lim-
ited logging labor availabil-
ity, he said. By this summer,
downed logs may be worth
one-third less due to insect
damage and cracks from
drying.
“They lose value pretty
quickly,” Hereford said.
Bark beetles that consume
downed trees will eventu-
ally move onto living ones,
which is why it’s important
to clear them out, said Mark
Gourley, silviculture director
at the Cascade Timber forest
management firm.
“If that happens, you
get more of a problem with
wildfire potential, so it’s a
vicious cycle,” he said.
Logging machinery was
destroyed in last year’s wild-
fires and will take up to a
couple years to replace,
Gourley said.
Meanwhile, the industry
is also dealing with a logging
truck and driver shortage.
“There’s not as much
infrastructure as there used
to be,” he said. “We’ve got
to get the fuels out of there
somehow.”
Unsalable fallen trees and
limbs create a logistical chal-
lenge for forestland owners,
as they’re often in remote
areas and can’t be efficiently
hauled off, said Greg Peter-
son, a forestland owner who
sustained damage in Polk
County, Ore.
“They just get in the way
of everything,” he said. “It’s
an obstacle to anything you
want to do.”
Workers could enforce regulations
and recover fines on behalf of Oregon
labor agencies under a bill that’s alarmed
the agriculture and timber industries.
While business groups fear House
Bill 2205 will result in a cascade of new
litigation against employers, proponents
claim the legislation will help the state
government become more efficient.
Lawmakers have enacted numer-
ous statutes intended
to ensure the “dignity
and respect” of work-
ers in recent years, such
as requiring paid sick
leave and predictive
scheduling, said Rep.
Barbara Smith Warner,
Rep. Barbara
a Portland Democrat.
Smith
“Passing these laws
Warner
is important. And it’s
even more important
to make sure they’re enforced. Our state
agencies do work hard and their staff are
extremely dedicated, but they cannot be
everywhere at once,” she said during a
recent legislative hearing.
The coronavirus pandemic has exac-
erbated problems with wage theft,
health and safety violations and other
workplace abuses, but state regulators
aren’t keeping up with the record num-
ber of complaints, Smith Warner said.
“When the state fails to enforce those
laws, companies rarely face penalties,”
she said.
Workers in the agriculture, manufac-
turing and retail sectors are particularly
vulnerable to abuses and would greatly
benefit from HB 2205, she said.
“We need enforcement tools that
Capital Press File
A worker dumps cherries from his picking bucket into a bin. Employees
could pursue lawsuits to enforce Oregon labor regulations under a bill
being considered by lawmakers.
promote deterrence,” said Terri Ger-
stein, a senior fellow at the Economic
Policy Institute, a think tank focused on
policies affecting low- and middle-in-
come workers.
An amended version of HB 2205
would reduce the scope of the legisla-
tion to clarify that it only applies to the
state’s Bureau of Labor and Industries
and Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, said Kate Suisman, an
attorney for the Northwest Workers’
Justice Project.
The original version of the bill raised
concerns that private right of action law-
suits could be brought against farms and
other businesses for alleged violations
of environmental regulations and other
statutes.
Several business organizations testi-
fied against HB 2205, arguing the legis-
FC TC CENTER-PIVOT
lation would undermine the state’s exist-
ing system of labor law enforcement.
State authorities have other tools
besides penalties to bring companies
into compliance, such as mandatory
training and random spot checks, said
Paloma Sparks, vice president of gov-
ernment relations with the Oregon Busi-
ness & Industry Association.
A similar law in California has led to
a situation where penalties are the “only
real tool,” with employees reaping min-
imal rewards, she said. “Where does
that money go? To attorneys. The
only real beneficiaries of that system
are the attorneys.”
The state’s court system is already
under strain and HB 2205 would only
add to that burden, said Tim Bernasek,
an attorney representing the Oregon
Farm Bureau.
Mower Conditioners
10’2” - 14’4” working widths
FAST MOWING, FAST DRYDOWN
Standard drawbar or 2-point
Finger, rubber roller or steel roller
Gyrodine swivel hitch for tight turns conditioning - adjustable for any crop
Lubed-for-life Optidisc
cutterbar and Fast-Fit blades
®
®
California
Oregon
Idaho
Marble
Mountain Machinery
Fort Jones
Campbell Tractor
& Implement
Fruitland
Glenns Ferry
Homedale
Nampa
Wendell
Papé Machinery
Fall River Mills
Fortuna
INVEST IN QUALITY
®
®
Papé Machinery
Aurora
Central Point
Cornelius
Gresham
Harrisburg
Madras
McMinnville
Merrill
Roseburg
Salem
Tangent
Robbins Farm Equipment
Baker City
Burns
La Grande
Campbell Tractor
& Implement
Ontario
Boyd’s Implement
Tillamook
Allows wide spreading to over 90%
of cut width for accelerated drydown
Washington
Papé Machinery cont.
Farmer’s
Equipment
KuhnNorthAmerica.com
Sumner
Burlington
Walla Walla
Lynden
Yakima
Papé Machinery
Watkins Tractor & Supply
Chehalis
Kelso
Ellensburg
Longview
Okanogan
Truck & Tractor
Lynden
Okanogan
Mount Vernon
Okanogan
Central Machinery Sales
Quincy
Pasco
Visit your local KUHN hay and forage dealer today!
www.kuhn.com
Blaine Bickelhaupt
S227770-1
Blaine Bickelhaupt, Owner/Broker has
over 25 years of proven land acquisitions.
Whether you are looking to buy or sell
Farm, Ranch or Recreational properties
in Washington or Idaho, or if you are just
wanting to know the current value of
your property, give Blaine a call.
Best Prices on Irrigation Supplies
Licensed in Washington and Idaho
Accredited Land Consultant
blaineb@bluemountainrealtors.com
509.520.5280
S226667-1
FLAT CARS- THE BETTER BRIDGE
• Lower Cost • Custom Lengths up to 90'
• Certified Engineering Services Available
• Steel Construction
Contractor
License # 71943
P.O Box 365 • 101 Industrial Way, Lebanon, OR 97355
Office: 541-451-1275
Email: info@rfc-nw.com
www.rfc-nw.com
S193783-1
ROGUE FARM CORPS PRESENTS:
CHANGING HANDS
Sprinklers • Rain Guns
Drip Tape • Dripline • Filters • Poly Hose
Lay Flat Hose • Micro • Valves • Air Vents
Fertilizer Injectors ...and much more!
AN ONLINE WORKSHOP SERIES
FOR FARMERS & RANCHERS
• Farm & business transfers
2021
www.roguefarmcorps.org/changinghands/workshops
Fast & Free Shipping from Oregon
S225400-1
FEATURING 3 WORKSHOP TRACKS:
• Farm financing & business planning
FEB - MAR
• Accessing & acquiring farmland
1-844-259-0640
www.irrigationking.com
10% OFF
PROMO CODE:
CAP10
S229412-1