Vernonia freedom., March 21, 1979, Page 9, Image 9

Wednesday March 21,1979
Vernonai Freedom — Paqe 9
Woods Report
Slash as an energy source
O regon F o r e s t I n d u s tr ie s re p o rt
Onee a stand of timber is harvested, the
land is left covered with a considerable
amount of wood debris. Different people
look at this debris in different ways.
The Oregon Department of Forestry,
concerned about forest fires, looks at the
wook debris as fuel for a potential forest
fire which could rapidly spread to
neighboring stands of timber.
The forester in charge of tim ber
production views the debrus, or slash as it
is called, as an impediment to planting the
nest stand of trees
The public sees this logging debris as a
possible source of energy to provide heat
and electricity, or as a raw material to
meet the demand for wood products or at
the very least, a source of firewood.
These different views all are important
to
tim ber
production
and
the
management of Oregon’s forests. But
before d iscussing them som e details
about slash are in order.
When a logging operation is completed,
there is an average of 50 to 200 tons per
acre of wood material left on the site. This
material is called slash.
Slash includes debris left on the ground
after logging such as limbs, tops and
broken and rotten pieces of wood. It also
includes debris which was already on the
ground before logging such as fallen trees,
rotten wood and limbs.
Slash also
includes non-commercial tree species and
brash such as vine maple, red alder,
ceanothus and bigleaf maple.
These slash materials create problems
in forestry. A s mentioned earlier, it is a
fire hazard. The Oregon Department of
Forestry in m ost cases requires the fire
hazard to be reduced. Present practice is
to burn the debris under controlled
conditions.
Fire lines are constructed around the
perimeter so the fire does not spread to
adjacent bids. Large crews are on hand
with fire fighting equipment.
I The controlled fire cannot be ignited
until the Department of Forestry checks
atmospheric conditions to assure the
smoke will nbt enter populated areas.
That go ahead to bum from the state is
radioed out to the S ta te F orestry
Inspector on the site and the fire is
im m ediately
se t.
T his
sm oke
management program h a s . been very
effective in avoiding smoke problems.
The controlled bum prepares the site
for reforestation. The timber manager
wants to bum the slash whether it is a fire
hazard or not. The fire leaves a clean site
with brush and debris removed and the
thick layer of organic material called
“duff” burned down to ju st inches. The
layer of duff can be as thick as three feet.
Tree planters can easily move through
the area after burning and plant the
seedlings in organic soil. This post-
burning environment gives the tree a
great ad van tage and a ssu res rapid
growth. In many cases the controlled
bum gives the seedling a big enough
jump on brush to avoid the necessity of
later u sin g chem icals to control
competing brush
Even though slash burning is used as a
step toward reforesting the logged-over
land, the public is still concerned about
burning wood fiber. In western Oregon
alone about 7 to 10 million tons of slash
are created each year. The question in the
public’s mind is, “Can’t this wood be used
for something?”
The technology for turning wood into
energy is not the problem. .Many lumber
Forestry rules approved
Oregon’s forest practices rules have
been approved by the U.S. Environmental
P rotection A g en cy a s th e forestry
elem ent
for
th e
w ater
qu ality
management plan for state and private
forest lands in Oregon.
This means the forest practices rules
are the first in the nation to meet federal
standards in controlling sources of water
pollution from forest m anagem ent
activities under the federal Clean Water
Act. The rules were developed by the
Oregon S tate Board of Forestry in
cooperation with the State Department of
E nvironm ental
Q uality,
S ta te
Department of Fish and Wildlife, the
Forest industry, and other cooperating
organizations.
This approval completes a process that
aegan in mid-1976. This effort includes an
assessment of the current forest practices
and plywood mills are partially operated
by their own sawdust and other wood
waste. The Eugene Water and Electric
Board has been using wood waste to
produce steam and electricity since 1940.
A lbany has a plant capable of
converting any organic material into a
crude oil. Brownsville has a plant which
turns saw du st and bark into a
compressed pellet which burns like coal.
But these plants are not economical
when using slash collected from logging
sites and trucked to the plant. Present
plants are using wood wastes from nearby
mills.
Present logging equipment is designed
to harvest and transport long logs. We
are not able to gather small pieces of wood
from steep logging sites and bring them
to a road for loading with our present
equipment.
An entirely new se t o f loggin g
equipment would be needed. The price for
this would be tremendous. These odd
shape pieces of slash, if brought to a road,
would be difficult to load or stack on a
truck. Slash would most likely have to
be converted to chips at the logging site
for hauling. Again transportating the
material to processing or energy plants
would be expensive.
The most optimistic future for slash is
probably in wood products. Large pieces
of slash can now be used for pulp and
paper production when the m arket
dictates.
When the housing market is up, there is
a large demand for lumber. Lumber mills
create additional sawdust and other wood
residues which can be used to make pulp
and paper. So when the housing market is
up, pulp needs are supplied by mill waste,
not slash.
However, when the housing market
slows down, sawmill waste does not meet
the demands from the pulp plants. When
this occurs, logging operations start
hauling wood material to the landing that
is usable for pulp, but not lumber or
plywood.. This situation occurred in 1974.
It is important to understand that the
material which was logged for pulp in
1974 was only the large pieces of slash
which our present logging equipment can
handle.
Besides energy and wood products, the
other possible use for slash is firewood.
Some people believe logging companies
should haul slash up to roads so firewood
cutters can utilize the wood. Logging is a
very competitive industry and only the
m ost efficient companies survive. Using
$200,000 worth of equipment and a crew
of 8 to 10 well-paid loggers to gather a
firewood for the public is presently a
money-losing proposition.
There are many other problems with
allowing firewood cutters to fell valuable
timber trees or cut their firewood from
stacks of logs worth hundreds of dollars
each.
If someday economical uses are found
for slash, it will not eliminate the need for
controll«! burns to prepare the site for
reforestation. Studies have shown that if
all the slash is removed down to pieces
four feet long and four inches in diameter,
there will still be tons of debris left on
each acre. The brush and top layer of duff
will still need to be removed.
A great deal of research is going on«
within industry, at universities, and
elsewhere to find new uses for slash which
are practical and economically sound.
B ut the technology to harvest and
transport dash from the forest must first
be found before the material can be
utilized. And no matter what uses are
found, the need for slash burning will
rules in meeting the standards as best
management practices in a technical work
study directed by Dr. George Brown of
Oregon S ta te U n iv ersity School of
Forestry. In addition there was an
assessm ent made of forest practices in
meeting these standards on federal lands.
Regional forest practices committees of
the Oregon State Board of Forestry also
reviewed current rules for specificity.
In all there werre 15 public meetings
g iv in g
concerned
c itiz e n s, and
organizations an opportunity to comment
on the rules.
The review led to a number of
substantive changes in forest practices
rules including the rules governing the
application of 2,4,5-T and S ilvex,
approved by the Board of Forestry last
September. These rules remain as part of
the Forest Practices Act even though
there has been a suspension of the use of
2,4,5-T and Silvex by EPA.
Chamber report
The first item of business at the March
meeting of the Vernonia Chamber of
Commerce was preparations for the
annual Easter E gg Hunt. This will take
place on Saturday, April 14th, at
Anderson Park. The Hunt will start at
10:00 a.m. It was decided to split the park
into four areas by age group: 0 to 3-year
olds, 4 to 6-year olds, 7 to 10-year olds and
11 and up. Directors Marge Dunay and
Agnes Wuest will chair the project. Mrs.
Cris Krieger has agreed to be the Easter
Bunny
Next was a discussion of the souvenier
mugs the Chamber has received. They are
selling slowly, but sales should pick up
with the coming of the better weather.
Some local people have purchased the
mugs, especially as gifts.
The petition allowing bingo for non­
profit organizations which the Chamber
sponsored will be placed on the April 3rd
ballot.
The Jamboree Parade was discussed,
and it was reported that the replacement
parts for the hobby horses in Anderson
Park had been received. The toys had
been heavily vandalized, and it will take
much work to repair them. A work party
was organized.
Under New Business, the members at
the meeting voted to conduct a telephone
campaign on Monday, April 2nd, to
encourage people to vote the next day.
The parking problem in downtown
Vernonia was discussed. It was moved,
seconded and passed to ask the City to
m ake a parking survey w ith the
Chamber’s help.
Finally, the Secretary was instructed to
send a letter of encouragement to the
electronics firm that had advertised its
consideration of Vernonia as a possible
plant site.
The next m eeting of the Vernonia
Chamber of Commerce will be Tuesday,
April 10, 8:00 p.m. in the W est Oregon
Electric meeting room. The public is
cordially invited to attend.
Residents warned of herbicide use
a i m e moment, Maxwell said, there is
Pacific Northwest residents have been no safe method of disposing of them. “For
warned to neither use nor dispose of any. heaven’s sake, don’t flush them down the
lawn and garden Silvex herbicides they
toilets or drains into sewer system s or
may have on hand.
septic tanks,” Maxwell said. “That would
They should be stored in safe places
contam inate river, lakes or ground
u n til further notice, agricultural
water.”
chemicals specialists have cautioned.
Maxwell said the only safe procedure at
U se of herbicides containing either the moment is to inspect supplies of
Silvex or 2,4,5,-T, except on rangelands
garden and yard chemicals containing
and rice fields, was suspended March 1 by
Silvex and “set them aside, in a safe
th e U .S. E nvironm ental P rotection
place, and wait until the EPA develops
Agency after a study linked them with
disposal methods.”
miscarriages in Oregon women.
Oregon residents were alerted that the
D isp osal o f the herbicides w ill
following herbicides are banned and
contribute to the very problem the EPA is
should be stored in safe places:
trying to avoid by suspending their use,
Ortho Weed and Feed 25-3-7
Washington State University’s Richard
Webfoot Brand Weed and Feed 8-4-4
Maxwell warned.
Fred Meyer Turf King Organic Based
“It is illegal to use these herbicides,”
Weed and Feed
Maxwell said “And it would be very
Amchem Weedone Granular Lawn Weed
irresponsible for someone who doesn’t
Control
agree with the EPA suspension to use up
K-Mart Broadleaf Weed Killer
any of the suspended herbicides that they
Ortho Weed-B-Gon Lawn Weed Killer
may have on hand.”
Amchem Weedone Chickweed Control.
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