Association News

Environmental Groups Too Extreme
The Associated Logging Contractors reported most Americans believe environmental groups are too extreme. This was determined by a national poll conducted by Moore Information, a public opinion research organization. The company found that 61 percent of the nation agreed with the statement "While protecting the environment is important, environmental groups usually push for solutions which are too extreme for me." Although throughout the country people felt environmental groups are too extreme, voters in the Pacific region (CA, OR, WA, HI and AK) and Northeast are less likely to share the sentiment.

AF&PA Report Paper Capacity Decline
Reversing the positive growth trend of the last two decades of the 20th Century, U.S. paper and paperboard capacity declined annually from 2001 to 2003, and is expected to remain unchanged during the 2004 to 2006 period, according to the 44th Annual Capacity Survey of the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA). The survey said that capacity rose at average annual rates of 2.1 percent a year in the 1980s and 2.2 percent in the 1990s, but declined 1.9 percent in 2001, 1.3 percent in 2002 and 0.4 percent in 2003. Increased foreign competition, maturing domestic markets, and competition from plastics and electronic media were cited as among the factors.

Accidental Death Policy
AOL announced that, after months of searching, they have finally settled the AOL-sponsored $50,000 24 Hours Accidental Death and Dismemberment policy. Misunderstanding occurred when AOL discovered that Colonial (who wrote the coverage) only covered Accidental Death and not the Dismemberment benefit. Although most participants aren’t unhappy with current coverage through Colonial and the lack of dismemberment benefits, AOL is not as satisfied. In its March newsletter AOL pledged its serious intent to continue to search the market for coverage with full benefits.

Mulrooney Award
At the Northwest American Wholesale Lumber Association (NAWLA) Spring conference, past president Gordon J. King was presented with the NAWLA Mulrooney Award.

More Firefighting Crews
The Associated Oregon Loggers (AOL) reported that a record 365 firefighting crews have registered with the Oregon Department of Forestry to help battle fires this coming season. This is four times the number available in 1998, and a 22 percent increase from last year.

Buse Purchase
In their April newsletter, the AFRC (American Forest Resource Council) congratulated the 125 employees of Buse Timber and Sales for completing an employee’s stock option plan to buy out the company from the Buse family, located in Everett, Wash. Now the employee pension plan owns 80 percent of the company and a five-person management team owns the remaining 20 percent. The management includes: Ron Smith, President and General Manager; Tom Parks, First Vice President and Sales Manager; Chuck Parker, Vice President of Timber; Loren Meade, Vice President of Finance; and Mark Hecker, Vice President of Operations.

Lumber Production Tops 36 Billion Feet
Western Wood Products Association reported that U.S. lumber production totaled 36.2 billion board feet in 2003 — that’s up 1.1 percent from the 2002 total. December production of 1.3 billion feet in the West was on par with the November total, and 7.9 percent ahead of the December 2002 total. Lumber consumption in the U.S. totaled an estimated 56.7 billion board feet, up 1.2 percent from the 2002 total. Final consumption figures will be published this spring and are expected to report consumption at around 57 billion board feet, an all-time high.

3,000 Attend In-Woods Expo
The first In-Woods Expo, held April 30-May 1, drew nearly 3,000 people to Hot Springs, Arkansas to view innovative harvesting and forest management systems in action. "We had a great turn-out from loggers—more than 1,200—as well as 300 company foresters," stated Richard Lewis, President of the Forest Resources Association, which hosted In-Woods Expo 2004 along with the Arkansas Timber Producers Association. Of the 79 exhibitors that displayed equipment and systems at In-Woods Expo 2004, 16 actually provided live demos of equipment at work in the woods.

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