ioti n news

Western Building Material Association has set its mid-year meeting for July 20-22 in Sunriver, Or. Board of directors, insurance trust, strategic planning and executive committees will meet.

Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association is gearing up for its summer golf tournaments.

New Mexico dealers were set to hit the links June 5 at Eagle Isleta Golf Course, Albuquerque, followed by

Wyoming golf June 2l at the Riverton Country Club, Riverton, and Colorado W.O.O.D. Inc. golf July 2l at The Ranch Golf Club, Westminster, and Colorado Western Slope golf Sept. 12 at Rifle Creek Golf Course, Rifle.

Lumber Association of California & Nevada's 2nd Growth will host its annual summer conference July l8-20 at the La Quinta Resort & Club, La Quinta, Ca.

Tom Ethen has joined LACN as the association's new legislative director.

Kiwis Lure U.S. Timber Firms

Weyerhaeuser Co., Federal Way, Wa., and environmentalists have found common ground in a most unlikely place-New Zealand.

The land that was once known for its sheep farms (and kiwis of course) is fast becoming a profitable locale for tree farms. Here, Weyerhaeuser has found it can harvest trees in ways unheard of in the U.S., and with the approval of local environmentalists.

The arrangement stems from a l99l deal that environmentalists cut with the timber industry: if loggers stay out of old growth forests, then they would drop most objections to cutting practices on tree farms.

This led to a flood of companies such as International Paper, Weyco and most recently, Rayonier Inc., to set up farms of mostly Monterey pine on once-denuded sheep ranches.

Environmentalists don't object to the farms being planted on the overgrazed land because as local environmentalist Guy Salmon said, "it's bit like a wheat field, you know."

Although there are some restrictions, firms can clear cut tree farms in a way impossible in the U.S. Domestically, for instance, loggers must leave trees standing in large buffers between clear cuts of certain maximum size. In New Zealand there are no such regulations.

Firms have also found that Monterey pine, known locally as radiata, grows twice as fast as in California, benefiting from rich soil and a moist and moderate climate.

The intensity of the growth, coupled with low labor costs and proximity to markets in Asia, has made the country a haven for the timber industry. Forestry exports hit $2 billion last year.