Boise Gascade Now Just "Boise"

Boise Cascade Corp. has launched a new brand identity and officially changed its name to Boise.

The Boise, Id.-based company made the change official March 14 as a way of "accurately reflecting the full scope and focus of the company's business," according to a company statement.

Boise's Timber & Wood Products and Building Material Division are now known as Boise Building Solutions.

As part of the new name change, the company will also be changing its corporate identity and company logo.

Some industry analysts have suggested that the name change is an attempt to distance the company from its forests products image, which recently has been under increasing scrutiny from environmental activists.

Company spokesman Mike Mosher has denied the decision was a reaction to environmentalists. "We're very proud of our heritage. We're not trying to get away from anything we do today," he said last fall.

The company was founded in 1951 when Boise Payette Lumber Co., Boise. Id.. and Cascade Lumber Co., Yakima, Wa., merged.

Forest Service Scraps Deals

The U.S. Forest Service has canceled l0 timber sales in Washington and Idaho after three years of court battles over the legitimacy of logging beetle damaged trees in the panhandle area.

The ambitious 1999 harvest project, which was halted by federal judges in February of 2001 , left 23 million bd. ft. unlogged-nearly twothirds of the original amount proposed.

As a result of the long legal battles, the Forest Service and timber companies admit the trees have lost most of their value, forcing the cancellation of contracts.

"This is a glaring example of how flawed the current Forest Service process is," said Stefany Bales of the industry group Intermountain Forest Association. "Everybody knew going into this that the window of opportunity was small."

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The beetle outbreak began in 1996 after a winter storm felled thousands of trees, helping to feed and fuel the beetle population.

Forest Service officials have now admitted they overstated the extent of the beetle infestation.

Lousiana Pacific, which had completed 6O7o to'70Va of the roadwork required before the blockage, is being reimbursed for 90Vo of that work.

Montee Timber Co., Post Falls, Id., is still seeking a settlement with the USFS. Montee had a contract to cut 2.5 million bd. ft. near Bead Lake in Washington.

Several contracts, totaling l3 million bd. ft. in both states, still remain open.