Excerpts Taken from the National Forest Article On the Forest Products Industries Vital Role In Restoration Work.
Much like a garden, forests need to be meticulously maintained. Thinning, for instance, is when trees are harvested from a dense, crowded forest. Loggers remove certain trees in places where the competition for light and nutrients is intense. Like weeding a garden, thinning leaves a population of healthy, vigorous trees that will grow healthier and stronger as a result. It also reduces the risk of a catastrophic wildfire. In turn, the trees that are harvested in thinning can be used to make valuable wood products.
At Neal Creek Forest Products in nearby Hood River, Oregon, wood that has been harvested from nearby national forests, state lands and private parcels is being made into essential products that people use every day. A spinning circular blade chews through a log, cutting out lumber. Meanwhile, on the other side of the yard, a conveyor belt drops firewood into the back of a dump truck, and a bucket loader moves bark mulch into neat piles.
When a thinning operation is taking place, the stark contrast between the natural setting and heavy logging equipment may seem jarring to some. Logging, no matter how selective, can seem chaotic and disruptive to nature. In a short time, however, even an untrained eye can see the many benefits of forest management.
“In three years, the average person will pass by the areas we are harvesting now and they probably won’t even know that we logged. Instead, they will see a picturesque, healthy forest,” said Hohlt.
Companies like Neal Creak Forest Products and Freres Engineered Wood play an indispensable role in managing forest lands across federal, state, private and tribal lands. They undertake the management activities needed to keep forests healthy, while creating valuable products that local people use everyday.
“Wood is the finest building material on the face of the Earth, and we’ve been using it for centuries. There have been buildings and structures that have stood for a thousand years built out of wood,” commented Tyler Freres. “It’s something that I think is inherent to our soul, that people just know how to work with wood. In addition, it’s got all these other virtues that need to be recognized. It’s renewable, it’s recyclable, it’s free. It’s plantable, it’s reusable, and it’s also solar powered.”
What’s more, these companies employ local people: loggers, equipment operators, engineers, millwrights, marketing, sales, accountants and a whole host of employees are involved in making and selling wood products. They see every day there is a win-win when it comes to sustainably sourcing timber and manufacturing wood products.
