Science supports sustainable harvesting of hardwoods

IfiONTROVERSY about the sus\-,tainability of the international trade of big-leaf mahogany timber has stimulated new research on tropical hardwoods.

In addressing "Mahogany & Its Lessons for Tropical Forestry in the New Millennium" during the recent World of Wood 2001, Dr. Ariel E. Lugo, director of the USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry, noted, "Logging of big-leaf mahogany is not the cause of deforestation-agriculture i s."

He explained, "Mahogany logging is, by its very nature, low impact. One tree per hectare is harvested, with only l2.9Vo of the area affected versus 18.3Vo for other tropical logging. Additionally, logging mahogany does not open the canopy or cause significant damage to surrounding trees. Nor is there evidence that harvesting bigleaf mahogany causes genetic erosion of the species."

Lugo insists that fundamental research is critical for clarifying issues, focusing debate and providing insights that result in enlightened approaches to the management of natural resources. In the case of big-leaf mahogany, the new infbrmation contributed to shifting the debate from one that assumed the species to be endangered and thus required listing in Appendix 2 of the Convention for International Trade of Endangered species (CITES), to focusing on regional assessments of the status of the species and seeking sustainable approaches to its management.

"We know that big-leaf mahogany grows well in open environments such as pastures and forest clearings," he said. "However, we also know that in mature closed forests, seedlings, saplings, and poles of mahogany can survive and grow. Although big-leaf mahogany grows in clumps of large trees, new research has shown the species to be highly out crossed at up to distances of 100 km. This means that as long as large seed trees are allowed to remain after harvesting, conserving the genetic diversity of big-leaf mahogany is not incompatible with harvesting. Moreover, harvesting of big-leaf mahogany can be conduct- ed with minimum damage to other forest values because few trees are extracted per unit area of forest and procedures are available to minimize damage to stands during the harvest and extraction activities."

Given that the silvicultural practices required for managing big-leaf mahogany forest stands are either known or rapidly being developed, the main challenge to the sustainable use of this timber species is social. A major problem with the CITES controversy, he says, has been the confusion among some of the participants of the debate regarding land management issues in the tropics. Because there is (Please turn to page 22)

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Pacific Lumber closed its Sherwood, Or., store, consolidating at its Hillsboro, Or., location ...

Payless Cashways has closed 16 of its 126 stores, including Reno, Nv., and its one-year-old PCI Builders Resource Center. Phoenix, 42....

Junction City Ace Home Center, Junction City, Or., has been opened by owner Bill Moody; the 7,200-sq. ft. store is managed by Jamey Waytenick

WC. Wnlcs Hardware moved to a larger facility in Portland, Or. ...

Eagle Rock Home & Garden, Bend, Or., will move to a new 6,000-sq. ft. location when construction is completed late this year...

Coquille Supply, Coquille, Or., held a grand opening for its new 5,000-sq. ft. store ...

Valley Ace Lumber & Hardware relocated its corporate Hq. from San Dimas to Barstow, Ca.

Feather River Wood & Glass Co,, Inc,, Chico, has closed; Gary DeYoung has started a consulting business ...

Dixieline Lumber's National City, Ca., Disaibution Center welcomed the 100th barge from the Dixieline Oregon Dock Facility (see photo coverage, p.48)

Lowe's Cos. this month opens new stores in Carson City, Nv. (Jeff Marlow, mgr.), atti.Lat Cruces, N.M. (April Gholson, mgr.) ... Lowe's agreed to pay $7 million for 15.5 acres in Hillsboro, Or.. and $4,64 million for 12.5 acres in Oceanside, Ca., and submitted site plans to move its Bremerton, Wa., store a half-mile north to a l5-acre site in unincorporated Kitsap County for a spring 2002 opening ...

Home Depot this month opens a 107,800-sq. ft. store in Central Tucson, Az.; a 114,250-sq. ft. home center in Sherwood, Or., and a 117,100-sq. ft. location in Parker, Co. ... Depot has expanded online sales to the entire continental U.S. ...

Home Depot suspended plans to build in the Hollywood District of Portland, Or., and on Keeaumoku St. in Honolulu, Hi.; anticipates a November opening in Lake Havasu, Az.; hopes to break ground in late summer or early fall in Springfield, Or., and is appealing the planning commission's rejection of its application to build a 118,000-sq. ft. store on 7.8 acres in Beaverton, Or....

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Keller Lumber Sales, Redding, Ca., has expanded to 16 acres and is adding three new sheds by October to substantially increase inventory ...

Pacific Lumber Co. temporarily shuttered its old growth mill in Scotia, Ca., beginning May 11; the company's other redwood mills continue on normal schedules

North Pacific Lumber, Portland, Or., merged subsidiary Castle Paciftc, Orange, Ca., into sister firm Landmark Building Products, Rancho Cucamonga, Ca.; Cliff Duernberger, Tom Stockle, Dave Wullen and Andre Padilla are now Landmark's new hardwood lumber sales team ,..

H amp t on Lumb e r subsidiary Hampton Distribution Co., Sacramento, Ca., will move 75 workers into a 130,000-sq. ft. warehouse at the former McClellan Air Force Base, Sacramento, Ca., which is being turned into a private business park

YardC onne ct. c om, Seattle, Wa., is now offering OSB as well as dimensional lumber ...

Califu rnia Cascade Industrie s, Fontana, Ca., is adding manufacturing capabilitiesto produce FirePRO fire retardant treated wood, but not NatureWood or Advance Guard borate treated wood as previously reported (May, p. 37)

We stwood Forest Products. Everett, Wa., added a sales office in Vancouver, 'W4., staffed by Roger Duncan, Terry Lane, Chris Cooper, Jerry Wolniewicz, Adam Berke and Pebble Jackson

Reel Lumber Service, Anaheim, Ca., expanded by 16,000 sq. ft.

Jasper Wood Treating parent Cascade P acific Industrie s, Jasper, Or., is reorganizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Euro Forest Products opened a Portland, Or., sales office, headed by Bill Goudge

Jore Corp,, Ronan, Mt., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Hoff Forest Products, Meridian, Id., has acquired software firm Unisun, which will be managed by Leon Bruch

Sierra Paciftc Industries, Redding, Ca., is negotiating to sell 6,100 acres along the North Fork American River to the U.S, Forest Service...

Solatube International Inc., Vista, Ca., has acquired tubular skylight manufacturer SunLight Systems /nc., Phoenix, Az.

All Bay Mill Co., Vallejo, Ca., lost its largest resaw in a May 27 fire

MonierLifetile, Irvine, Ca., is closing its San Bernardino, C&., plant, consolidating operations at Rialto, Ca.

Housing starts inApril (latest figs.) increased lqo to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.609 million ... single-family starts rose 7Vo to a 1.288 million; multi-family was at a rate of 280,000 for 5+ units ... permits fellTVo to an annual pace of 1.587 million

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