Timber, timber everywhere. Fewer trees to cut.
It comes as no surprise to timber industry professionals in the area that the state Department of Natural Resources has announced the creation of a program manager position in search of more logs for Port Angeles Hardwood, LLC, and more cedar salvage volume for the few remaining shingle mills on the Olympic Peninsula. (PDN lead story, June 10, 2021 edition)
This is yet another example of Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz grandstanding the solution to a long existing problem caused by the abdication of DNR’s fiduciary responsibility to the trusts.
Several factors conspire to make this a futile effort.
The first and most significant factor is the DNR Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), which as the article states, places 40 percent of the available land base off-limits to harvest.
From what I have heard from many professional harversters, I think this is a conservative estimate. The real number is likely closer to 50 percent.
Secondly, the HCP restricts harvest in and around riparian areas, precisely where alder prefers to grow, and it also restricts the harvest of down and dead cedar, the primary raw material for cedar salvage operators.
Finally, since the DNR fails to possess a reliable and accurate timber inventory of trust lands, this search for hardwood and cedar volume will be an exercise in frustration for all.
Good luck to the new hire; they will need it.
Tom Swanson
Port Angeles