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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 2015)
Wallowa County Chieftain wallowa.com News January 14, 2015 MILLS: Small operations getting higher prices Continued from Page A1 It’s not likely the public ever will know exactly what impact the Dec. 31 conclusion of a contract that Hancock Timber – the largest private landowner in Wallowa Coun- ty and one of the largest tim- ber-producing companies in the world – and Boise Cas- cade has had on BC’s need to pay higher prices for its logs, but not having a guaranteed cut coming off of the 148,000 acres of timberland Hancock Timber owns in northern Wal- lowa County is likely a factor. Both Boise Cascade and Hancock Timber say they are maintaining an important working relationship. But suddenly, says Wal- lowa County Commissioner Mike Hayward, Boise Cas- cade is having to “scramble” to supply enough logs to keep its three lumber mills, one ply- wood mill, and one particle- board mill – located in Elgin, La Grande, and Pilot Rock – supplied with wood. The ¿ nale of that guaran- teed wood supply from Wa l l o w a County land owned by Hancock Timber could be one factor, and yet two additional Hayward factors sud- denly are leveling the playing ¿ eld and giving smaller logging opera- tions, like Tanzey Forest Im- provement, higher prices for their product and increased hope for their businesses. In 2014, a sawmill in Clarkston, Wash., operated by Bennett Lumber Products – seeing that the lumber market was coming back – re-opened its doors, and across the Snake River in Lewiston, Idaho, a large sawmill owned by Idaho Forest Group opened up a new high-technology manufactur- ing line that greatly expanded its demand for logs. Hancock Timber Regional Manager Joe Justice, although by company policy declin- Wallowa County ing to report how much Han- cock Timber is availing itself of these two new log buyers, said, “We are pleased to see Bennett Lumber Products and Idaho Forest Group increasing production. We have observed a strengthening in the log mar- kets recently and believe it may be indicative of a further strengthening economy.” Well versed on the topic of timber in Wallowa Coun- ty, Hayward is of the opinion Boise Cascade soon will need a signi¿ cantly larger supply of logs off of federal land to keep its ¿ ve mills in this area run- ning. And yet another burr in Boise Cascade’s side arose Dec. 9 when, in response to an appeal lodged by Legal Wilderness Defenders and the Hells Canyon Preservation Council (HCPC), two timber sales BC had purchased on the Wallowa-Whitman Na- tional Forest in Baker County amounting to 15 million board feet of timber was blocked by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. HEALTH LINE Buck Fullerton, wood pro- curement manager for Boi- se Cascade now is asking, “Where do we get that volume for next year?” Fullerton says the court decision is blocking about 3,400 truckloads of logs that Boise Cascade had been counting on. According to Veronica Warnock, conservation di- rector for the HCPC, a basis of their appeal was that the Forest Service, which had prepared documentation for what amounted to ¿ ve Snow Basin timber sales north of Halfway totaling about 38 million board feet of timber, did not comply with the for- est plan that’s been in effect since 1990. “They violated procedural law” in how they amended the forest plan, she said. The Online Environmental Law Reporter, in summing up the Ninth Circuit’s reversal of a lower court decision, said the merit to the appellants’ argument was in the Environ- mental Impact Statement’s discussion of elk habitat. Tanzey, age 63, says for the ¿ rst time in six years his crew has work lined up throughout the upcoming year, and now a business re- cently ready to close its doors will survive into the hands of two sons and a grandson. With about a dozen clients ranging in property ownership between 300 and 4,000 acres, Tanzey Forest Improvement will continue harvesting tim- ber the old-fashioned way by selectively harvesting with, says Tanzey, an eye toward improving the ecosystem. Hayward says the new tilt of the supply and demand system in Wallowa County is generating far-reaching impli- cations. Simply stated, in the timber industry, competition brings the price up. And for the timber industry in Wal- lowa County, which has no sawmills, that’s a good thing. A9 Wheat growers group offers scholarships Oregon Wheat Founda- tion offers up to 12 scholar- ships for high school seniors whose families have Ore- gon Wheat Growers League membership, students who work part-time for grower members, or family members employed by OWGL. Scholarship requirements: write an essay on any wheat industry topic and summary of the student’s school and community involvement. One $1,000 award avail- able to applicants from each qualifying county, includ- ing Wallowa County. Three awards are available between Willamette Valley and Cen- tral Oregon counties. Applications are available from the OWGL website, www.owgl.org. Or contact Marilyn Braggh, mblagg@ owgl.org. Application post- mark deadline: Feb. 1. Connect with customers and increase revenue! No matter what your business is, the Wallowa County Chieftain has the audience you need! We have many options to market your business in an affordable and effective manner. 519 W. North Street, Enterprise 541.426.3413 Mon-Thurs 9 to Noon/1-5pm; Fri. 9-1 Specializing in Anti-Aging Skin Therapy Customized Facials Waxing Services, Brow Sculpting Body Polish-Back Facials High-Perfomance Products 541-398-0759 | Located @ beecrowbee 01 Main Joseph Call Brooke Pace today! 541-426-4567 bpace@wallowa.com wallowa.com