anufactured fencing

call, as opposed to a team of Plumbers doing the same work on 150

The firm additionally supplies and installs trellising and decking. "Usually we'll put the extras in at the model site of the subdivisions," McElhiney explains. "And the builder will have plans drawn uP, offering the decks and such as options on the units."

The flrm is a division of Redwood E,mpire, which supplies much of the material Sierra Lumber uses. Yet redwood is the wood of choice for other reasons.

"Out here they're building a lot of subdivisions with small yards," McElhiney says. "And redwood is an economical way to put in a lot of little fences. Also it's a decorative item and it holds up well without anything being done to it; it can be painted or stained, but it doesn't have to be. So, it's cheaper than chain link or brick wall."

In addition to a full line o[ redwood products, Sierra Lumber stocks some pressure treated Douglas fir, mostly for framework and the underpinnings beneath decks, and for retaining walls, for which regulations occasionally require the use of treated materials.

The company also sells to a walkin trade of do-it-yourselfers and contractors, but even the retail business is centered on the core o[ pre-manufactured redwood. "We're full service in that we have everything they need for their redwood projects, but not in the sense that we sell, say, ladders or have a paint department," he says. cannot in fairness form judgments based on one-sided emotional rhetoric produced by environmental extremists and media opportunists.

Carving a niche for itself in Premanufactured redwood fencing has afforded Sierra Lumber an enviable reputation in the area. SaYs McElhiney: "We just rely on word of mouth. We have to bid on the Projects and stay competitive, but we're kind of lucky. We don't have to go out and actively seek the business. It comes to us."

Unlike most building material manufacturers. the wood industrY produces a truly renewable resource. For example, redwood manufacturers are harvesting many fullY grown young trees after only 50 to 60 years. The public should be made aware that if America is to build the homes it needs to solve our current housing crisis, timber manufacturers must be allowed to continue to Profitably, responsibly manage and harvest our forests.

It seems very imPortant that we all be prepared to answer questions from the media, environmental groups and government entities in an open and concise way. presenting the information in formats that are easy for the lay person to understand. Only an informed public will be able to examine the forest management situation in all of its complexity and react to it intelligently.

We already have on our side excellent information outlets like the American Timber Council and the American Forest Resource Alliance.

Story at a Glance

Communication with the media and public is essential if the wood industry is to overcome our current bad Press. with education the present climate of hostility can be overcome.

By continuing to work together as an industry, we hope to see the climate of hostility to timber producers improve.

Closer to home. as redwood timberlands have matured, the redwood grade mixture we Produce has changed. We anticipate the majority of redwood produced in the 1990s will be from second growth timber. However, there are some mills Producing lumber from old growth trees. We anticipate this product mix to remain constant throughout the decade, providing no legislative land acquisitions are forced upon us.

We are confident that the redwood industry will be able to surmount the new problems of the 1990s in the same businesslike waY that we have dealt with Past difficulties and to supply future markets with our quality Product.