FEATURE Story
By David Koenig
Turning up the heat to salvage more downed timber
he hits keep coming. Recent years have seen what feels like an unprecedented onslaught of wildfires, hurricanes, beetle infestations, and other calamities that have downed millions of trees. Unfortunately, far too much of the downfall is never salvaged for use as lumber or other wood products, and is instead left to rot or quickly pulverized in a chipper, to “make the problem go away.” What can the industry do to increase the reclamation rate of disaster-damaged wood?
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A Short Window of Opportunity
Before joining the Southern Forest Products Association in 1997, SFPA executive director Eric Gee worked as a forester for a south-wide private forest management consulting company. He is a Society of American Foresters Certified Forester and Alabama Registered Forester. He cites several explanations for why only a fraction of downed timber is utilized as lumber products. “Natural disasters can be particularly challenging for timberland owners,” Gee said. “There is a short window of opportunity
WHILE IT’S HEARTBREAKING that only a fraction of downed timber will be utilized, this landowner was able to find a local operator of a portable sawmill who was capable of turning his felled loblolly pines into beautiful lumber. (Photos courtesy of Eric Gee)
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n The Merchant Magazine n January 2022
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