EDITIORIAL

Make a call, save an industry

ll, HEN the spotted owl controversy first UU flapped into public consciousness, too few in this business saw it for the threat it became. Today our little feathered foe is all too familiar. Lumbermen at all levels are increasingly serious about the need to preserve the bird without destroying the lumber industry.

Industry-favorable legislation is now before the U.S. Congress and there is a quick, easy way to lend our support. The Forests and Families Protection Act of l99l was introduced by Robert Packwood ofOregon and is supported by a group of congressmen. It is the only timber controversy legislation currently before the Congress. The numbers are SB 2463 and HR 1156.

Making your support of the bill known is easy. The American Forest Resource Alliance has a 900 telephone number program to streamline response. Just call (900) 230-0033. You'll hear a brief recorded message about the

DAVID CUTLER editor- publisher

bill from Mark Rey, AFRA's executive director. Then you leave your name and address. That's all. A clearinghouse later sorts it all out by zip code and automatically sends a letter for you to your two senators and your representative in the House. Your total cost: $4.95. A number of businesses block the use of 900 numbers from company phones so you may have to call from a residential phone.

Basically the Packwood bill is a joint labor/ management proposal that takes a middle of the road stance, setting aside some land for the spotted owl while limiting the environmentalists' ability to cripple the supply of wood via Forest Service challenges and other disruptive tactics. The bill also provides economic aid for displaced loggers.

No need to stare at a blank piece of paper, wondering how to say what you think. Just pick up the phone and register your vote in our battle for a reasonable supply of wood from America's forests.

Rdnood lur unrhnlod nrhnl proportor tlnt endow it with advantages over other wood spmies. Now we have lmprwed on the sdection, sruoning, manufacturing and protmtiw packaging of this specles to tlellver PromFm Knotty-the ellte among tlght knot redwood sidings.

>Each pbeo d Promhrm Knotty is individually machine monitored to asurs a moisture content of 19% or less,

> Geroful perolocton and orrcting control ol seasoning inhibits further shrinkage as well as relieving drying stresses which can contribute to checking and lmsening of knots.

>Tlghhr rtrndrrds of selection and grading haw also ellminatod all cut-outs fonnerly allowed.

>lmprwed proteciluo ond crp assures that allthe values added at the millare dellvered to the jobsite. The end cap canies storage, application and finishing instructions to enable those values to be properly utillzed, A handsomoly mw-bxturod rangg of available patterns includes Thick Butt Rabbotd Bevel, V-Joint Tongue and Groove, 1" Channel Shiplap, V-Shiplap, and trlm. Virtually all pattems have underpne performance enhancements including among others, increasiq to %'the lap of ihe rabbei on the Thhk Butt Berrel siding pattern.

Proporly llnhhod, Premlum Knotty will prwlde attractive, affordable, longlasting performance. $o cHo wlth dE MFomlum Knotty ilght knot rdwood sHlng. Tln obvlour chobo. Natur&.

For information on availabilitv and the name of your nearest source of su'pply call:

Toll lruo Fronlum Knoily Hoil Uno 1-800-63 7-7077 rAx707-822-7A89

The Redwood People

Simpson Timber Company Redwood Division P.O::Box 1'169 Arcata, CA 95521-1169

CBEDITS FRS'I rOe grOrO, ABCilITECT PAUL FELLSFS; ARCHITEGI RICHARD KOTTLER;

F OREST PRODUCTS are in a J- ttu,. ol' change. Timber resources, products and markets are changing. Our industry is at a turning point. Things will never again be as they were.

Changes are taking place as the result of new paradigms or accepted ways ofdoing things. Four events are changing the rules in forest products: the new ethic to lock up commercial forests and "save" them: the use of wood in untraditional markets; wood products taking new and different shapes; the customer's demand to be delighted.

Timber supply shortages have brought rising wood costs, shutdowns and layoffs. In 1990 alone, 53 mills closed in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, putting more than 4,300 people out of work. This year, we saw l0 permanent or indefinite closures in the Northwest by midFebruary. The only question is how many more will we see.

In 1990, there were 540 timber sale appeals in Region 6, which consists of 106 million acres in Oregon and Washington and represents 33% of the total U.S. softwood sawtimber. Forest Service management plans for this same area will reduce the total annual harvest by 900 million board feet, costing 10,000 to 12,000 jobs. Ballot initiatives also aim to lock up forests with a possible 350 million board feet of lost harvest and another 4,000 to 5,000 jobs lost. The spotted owl issue will claim even more jobs and lock up millions of acres.

Putting all these threats together, the Northwest federal lands harvest could possibly be reduced to 2 million board feet. This evolves into an industry that has shrunk, an industry that is different and an industry that cannot rely on public timber harvests. This is paradigm No. 1.

Paradigm No. 2 finds the overall market growing, some 2% to 3%, and changing in composition. While the overall demand for wood is increasing, its application is decreasing in some situations. Housing starts averaged about 1.7 million to 1.8