An up-to-date look at Northwest hardwoods

Alder is a very versatile wood with some excellent machining and gluing properties. It generally is equal to or better than the eastern species of black walnut, cherry, birch and maple. A distinct advantage is its finishing properties. It takes a great variety of finishes and stains for matching with other specles.

It is however, a relatively light wood weighing about 28 lbs. per cubic foot. This is about the same as yellow pop' lar. In contrast, sweet gum has a weight of 36 lbs. per cubic foot and black walnut, 38.

During bad winters all logging may be down also causing a shortage and during the summer it is risky to deck logs more than a month because alder stains very quickly in warm weather. The logistics of log procurement and use are not the easiest.

The mills are not large. They average 3 to 12 million feet a year, although one company produced 40 million board feet last year in their two mills. We also have one of Ervin Dargan's roundwood operations in Oregon which is associated with a sawmill. The company can sell all the rounds it can make. Unfortunately, there have been problems in log procurement, and the sawmill has priority on logs.

I am sure you are all familiar with the Forest Products Laboratory publications on dimension stock yields from hard maple and black walnut lumber. The laboratory also conducted a similar study for us on alder and one of the producers has computerized the data for use in the company cut-stock plant. They also provide a customer service. A furniture manufacturer, for example, can submit a cutting order, and the comDuter will determine the optimum lumber grade mix needed to fill that order.

As I have mentioned, the traditional market has been California, although quite a bit of alder is used in the Northwest, particularly for the manufacture of kitchen cabinets and turnings. A large new turning plant went into operation in Eugene, Or. in 1973.There are also a number of smaller furniture plants which use either alder or maple. A limited amount is also manufactured into veneer.

The Northwest hardwood industry has made significant progress: much of it through the efforts of their Northwest Hardwood Assn. which is headquartered at 747 St. Helens St., Tacoma, Wa. The association has about 90

Story at a Glance

In this second of two Parts, Ralph Peter of the USFS gives a valuable overview of the species of Pacific Northwest hardwoods, their uses and markets .. . . the material was originally presented to the Second Annual Hardwood Symposium, Cashiers, N.C. members, consisting of producers, users, brokers and wholesalers: all interested in alder and its future.

So what might the future be? The crystal ball is a little cloudy, but perhaps we can get a few glimpses.

by Ralph Peter U.S. Forest Service Portland, Or.

ronmental considerations now prohibit logging on many of these sites.

(2) (3)

Most of the alder is found below the 2,000 foot elevation, and much of this land now is being lost to fbrestry. Industrial, residential and agricultural demands place a higher value on such lands.

The demand for alder pulpwood (or any pulpwood) is increasing, and more alder is going into the chipper, some of it sawlog size.

Also. much of the alder is not readily available because of land ownership or accessibility problems.

The above remarks seem to indicate a potential reduction in supply of alder sawlogs. However, I am quite optimistic. At present consumption, 26 brllion board feet will go a long wayeven if a portion of this never becomes available.

Forexample, a1972 study of Washington State's Hardwood Resources and Markets (DNR report no. 23) shows an evenflow harvest estimate of over 400 million board feet per year. But at the same time, the report also hedges stating that much of the land will be devoted to urban use by the end of the year 2000, thus reducing this estimate. We don't have a similar study for Oregon, but I expect we can use the same data to get a "ball park" estimate for that state.

Second Of Two Parts

The production of alder-maple lumber probably has reached a plateau and this can be sustained. Significant increases in lumber production, except for short periods, should not be expected for several reasons:

(1) The best alder sites are along the streams and rivers. Envi-

It has been said, and I know it's true, that some alder lands are being converted to softwoods. Present economics do favor the growing of Douglas-fir. But these conditions can change. One company will be planting several hundred acres to alder this fall. It is a first for Northwest forestry and may establish a trend away from the monoculture of Douglas-fir. It may be that a new day is dawning for the Northwest hardwoods.