FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1/17/2003
Contact: Republic: Timothy Coleman 509 775-2667; tcoleman@kettlerange.org
Republic, WA. Rep. George Nethercutt, Jr. and Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey will participate in a rally this Saturday in Republic, at 10 a.m. Nethercutt’s announcement stated that it was to “discuss and reverse Clinton Administration policies that led to the decline of active forest management.” Undersecretary Rey is expected to discuss the Bush Healthy Forest Initiative.
Conservationists look for solutions
Kettle Range Conservation Group (KRCG) was saddened to hear the Republic mill’s closing. “There’s never a good time to lose a job, especially in this economy,” said Vice-president Steve Anthes.
“Skilled forestry workers are essential to our region to help restore forest health and reduce wildfire threats to homes and communities,” said Timothy Coleman, KRCG executive director. “Equally important is preservation of our scenic and healthful rural environment – that’s our biggest drawing card to business investment. It’s a balancing act.”
Since April 2002, staff of KRCG have met with Duane Vaagen and his staff seven times to discuss the needs of their mills and to establish dialogue and a process to address forest restoration, wildfire issues, and protecting Colville National Forest wilderness. KRCG is a member of the collaborative Colville Community Forestry Coalition, a broad-based group seeking common ground to advance forest thinning and restoration projects. In September 2002, KRCG proposed a restoration timber sale in the Trout Creek area to reduce wildfire risks and provide logs to local mills.
Nethercutt on lumber imports
For years, conservationists have encouraged Congress and the Bush Administration to take an active role to address lumber imports. Representative George Nethercutt Jr. said “it is clear trade is a major reason for the closure of this mill. The company [Vaagen Bros.] has been unable to compete with the extremely low cost dimension lumber produced by Canada and Europe.” However, recently Nethercutt said environmental laws were to blame: “the scales are so tipped that the jobs are falling off the scale.”
The Bush Administration imposed tariffs on Canadian imports of 27% in April 2001, but Canadian mills increased capacity and efficiency sufficiently to pay for the tariffs. Timber imports now account for 40% of total US lumber consumption.
U.S. LUMBER CONSUMPTION AND IMPORTS 2002
Adequate timber resources exist to support mill operations
According to Washington State DNR Timber Harvest Reports, 1995-2000, the timber cut in Eastern Washington from state, private, national forests and other public land has averaged about 490 million board feet per year. Timber industry and Native American harvests accounted for an equal amount. Republic mill manager Jon Newman stated that his mills operation requires 30 to 35 million board feet annually.
Supply is not to blame
“The shutdown of the mill in Republic is not an isolated event tied to the particular timber supply problems associated with northeast Washington. In fact, timber supply has little to do with the problems that have led many mills in the Pacific Northwest to shut down.”
Lumber mills are shutting down across the nation. Both areas and mills that do not rely on National Forests for timber supply are being negatively impacted. In Maine, where there is almost no reliance on federal timber, mills are closing and timber-dependent counties are losing population.”
Despite efforts to link the difficulties that lumber mills are currently facing to reduced federal timber harvests, such partisan political bickering makes two fundamental economic errors. First, it assumes the problem lumber mills face is lack of access to raw material rather than a surplus of raw material that is driving prices down. Second, it assumes that gaining access to the most costly sources of supply at the very time that the prices mills can get for their products are at record lows would some how help the mills. Logging the timber in roadless areas is costly because it is located in isolated, steep, remote timber stands that require new road systems and special harvesting techniques; to compound the problems with these areas, in general, they are dominated by relatively low valued trees. This is the opposite of the type of supply that would currently be useful to mills, at least if they were asked to carry those costs rather than shifting them onto US taxpayers.”Thomas Michael Power, Ph.D., U. of Montana (Jan. 2003)
Legislators sound warning
In March 2001, fifty-three U.S. Senators wrote a letter to President Bush stating:
“The U.S. lumber industry faces a continued crisis this year with lumber prices collapsing nearly 33 percent and subsidized shipments from Canada growing to record levels. In the past six months, such conditions caused approximately one hundred mills across the U.S. to close with attendant losses in employment.”
About Kettle Range Conservation Group
Since 1976, the Kettle Range Conservation Group has been protecting old growth forests, roadless areas, clean water, recreation and wildlife. We remain firmly committed to these goals, and we believe that the Republic mill and our priceless American wilderness can mutually co-exist. “I believe the mill will stay open, because this community will find a way to make it happen,” said Coleman. “
For more information visit the Kettle Range Conservation Group website at: www.kettlerange.org.
