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<p class=MsoPlainText><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Oregon
Department of Forestry<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>NEWS
RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Oregon’s
timber harvest in 2009 hits historic lows<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Distribution: Major Media<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>August
20, 2010 // Contact: Gary Lettman, 503-945-7408<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>10-42<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>A
struggling economy, reflected in weak housing and nonresidential construction,
drove Oregon’s 2009 timber harvest to historic lows. The harvest of 2.748
billion board feet is 20 percent lower than the already depressed 2008 harvest
and the lowest since the Great Depression-level harvest of 2.622 billion board
feet. Timber harvest information to-date for 2010 shows harvest levels slowly
increasing, but a major recovery in harvests is not forecast until 2011 or
beyond according to Oregon Department of Forestry economist Gary Lettman.
“Oregon’s forest industry infrastructure, although much reduced in
recent years, remains intact,” said Lettman. “There have been
numerous recent temporary mill shutdowns, but few mills are being permanently
shuttered.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Most
of the timber harvest decline was in western Oregon, declining from 3.079
billion board feet in 2008 to 2.403 billion board feet in 2009. Even though the
eastern Oregon timber harvest volume has been decreasing every year since 2005,
the decline in harvest is slowing. Eastern Oregon harvest volume had dropped 45
percent from 2004- 2008, but dropped only 5 percent from 2008-2009.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Douglas
County jumped in front of Lane County as having the highest volume harvested
during 2009, with 384 million board feet. Lane County, the top 2008 producer of
timber volume, dropped 22 percent in 2009 to 338 million board feet. In western
Oregon, Yamhill was the only county that harvested more timber in 2009 than in
2008, with an increase in harvest of 581 thousand board feet. Klamath County
once again harvested the most timber in eastern Oregon, with a cut of 77
million board feet – a 14 percent increase from 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Most
timber harvested in Oregon comes from forest industry landowners and those
harvests declined significantly in 2009, with the change between 2008 and 2009
representing the largest change in timber harvest by ownership class. Cutting
2.583 billion board feet in 2008, the forest industry accounted for 75 percent
of Oregon’s total volume removed. In 2009, the forest industry’s
volume harvested decreased by 597 million board feet, a 23 percent drop to
1.986 billion board feet. Most of this decline occurred in western Oregon,
where 2009 forest industry harvests decreased in every county. Forest industry
timber harvests in eastern Oregon decreased by only 6 percent. The forest
industry harvested more timber in 2009 than in 2008 in Klamath, Jefferson,
Morrow, and Wasco counties. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>“Even
in a struggling timber economy, Oregon’s Native American Tribes and the
U.S. Bureau of Land Management were able to increase timber harvests in
2009,” Lettman said. Tribal timber harvests increased 13 percent for 2009
to a total of 65 million board feet. The Bureau of Land Management increased
harvest from 2008 by 26 percent to a total of 147 million board feet, making
2009 that agency’s highest timber harvest since 1999.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>For
more information please contact Gary Lettman, Principal Forest Economist, at
503-945-7408 or <a href="mailto:glettman@odf.state.or.us">glettman@odf.state.or.us</a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>This
information and more is available in the recently released Oregon Department of
Forestry 2009 Annual Timber Harvest Report – a compilation of statewide
data pertaining to timber harvests. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The
2009 report, as well as previous years’ annual reports, is available
online on the department’s website at <a
href="http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/STATE_FORESTS/FRP/annual_Reports.shtml">www.oregon.gov/ODF/STATE_FORESTS/FRP/annual_Reports.shtml</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>###<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>For
questions regarding the Private Forests News service:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Kevin
Weeks<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Oregon
Department of Forestry<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>(503)
945-7427<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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