Peak Forests: Overcutting Oregon

Clearcutting and the decline of the timber industry

"New Forest: Planted 2000"
Roseberg Forest Products, southern Douglass County, Oregon

 

This map shows large sections of industrial forestland lack older trees ready for "harvest." Millions of acres of baby trees are good for wood chips or grinding up for electrical generation or liquid fuel - but not for saw logs.

According to the Atlas of Oregon, the top ten mills in our state are for pulp or plywood - not lumber. Additionally, there is almost no interest in value added manufacturing - in 1999, only 22 million dollars of furniture was exported from Oregon. 86 million dollars of scrap and waste was exported. Nearly three quarters of a billion dollars in lumber and other wood products was exported.