Redwood's availabi lity assured

By Greg Lambert Redwood Product Development Manager Simpson Timber Co.

wfffiT.,H::i'i3 liJnJ'fr

continue to be available commercially? What will the product mix and volume be?

Since we cannot harvest the same trees over and over, a change was bound to come. The generation transition has brought about two distinct changes in the redwood lumber product. Because the sapwood ring is about the same thickness in both old and new generation trees, the proportion of sapwood to heartwood is greater. Heartwood exists in young growth trees, but in lesser proportions. By the same token, a heavier percentage of the increased sapwood will fall into garden and construction grades.

The second major change is in the proportion of knotty grades. In the past, the proportion has been about 6090 upper grades and 40s/o knot<ontaining grades. As the transition progresses, this ratio will gradually change to about 2590 upper grades and 7Ss/o knotty grades.

Neither of these changes is having as great an impact on the end use market as first glance might indicate. We have discovered that in the past we had a tendency to "overuse" the upper grades of redwood-especially heartwood-mostly because it was readily available. Coincidental with the changing resource, there has been a definite market shift in favor of garden and construction grades.

Even knottygrades havetaken on a new focus, opening up exciting vistas of end use versatility. Because the trees harvested are younger, the knots tend to be smaller and tighter. For the first time a sizable volume of the rustic knotty grades is ideally suited for exterior siding and trim, and interior paneling, not to mention outdoor uses such as decks, fences, gazebos, and trellises.

In the projected grade mix total, the siding and paneling volume availability is just about the same as in the past. The difference is the addition of a highly attractive, affordable, rustic, tight knotted product comparable to what pine and cedar have had available for many years. This new grade category offers the end use possibilities of architectural finish grades with the physical characteristics and cost of garden grades.

Select knotty will occupy a significant place in the future. Properly dried, with attractive rustic knots, this grade is rapidly gaining popularity as an exterior siding on custom, tract and manufactured homes as well as showing great potential for interior uses.

Another plus in the new grade mix, as defined by the resource, is a significant increase in garden grades, which in recent years have continued to experience a growing demand. This is possible because total redwood output will be increasing significantly in the years ahead.

For the better part of the past two decades, conservationists have worried that the redwoods were endangered, and lumbermen have worried that supplies of this important wood would diminish. Contrary to popular belief, the redwood forests today cover approximately 1,700,000 acres, just as they did over 200 years ago

(Please turn to page I5)

Sfo4r at a Glance

Years bring change an redwood product. .less heartwood, more knols alter grade mix.. new mad(ets develop...future avallablllty assured.

REDWOOD RESOURCE

(Cotrtinued fron page 1l) when early explorers first discovered the California giants.

Another common misconception is that redwoods take a long time to mature, and are exceedingly slow-growing. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Redwood grows at a very fast rate for the first 100 years, then begins to slow down somewhat. Very old, overmature stands are in a sense standing in storage. Young redwood stands grow at an average rate of 1,000 board feet per acre per year.

The redwood forest is capable of growing more board feet per acre per year than any other softwood timber type in the country. In addition to reproducing naturally from seed as well as from prolific sprouting of the stumps left after harvest, new redwood forests are assured as the result of hand planting redwood seedlings.

As evidence of a commitment to the future of redwood. within the last five years, Simpson has expended over $20 million for harvestable resources and additional land on which to grow more trees. Many of these trees will not be harvested in our lifetime, but they assure that redwood is here to stay, backed by the resource necessary to make it a growing reality in your profit picture.

Lumber lmport Legislation

Legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives to limit imports of Canadian softwood lumber, siding, shakes and shingles, and particleboard for a five year period. Representatives James Weaver (DOr.); Larry Craig (R-td.) and Beryl Anthony (D-Ar.) were among the 22 members sponsoring the bill.

Masonite Buys BC Siding Line

Masonite Corp. has purchased from Boise-Cascade Corp. press plates and trademarks for hardboard siding products previously manufactured at their now closed plant in International Falls, Mn. Masonite will continue national distribution of the products.