Storms Beckon Salvage Crews

An estimated 600 to 700 million bd. ft. of timber rvas blorvn down in western Washington by early December storms - leaving a big cleanup for private and public fbrestland owners rvho are already facing lowered demand fbr logs.

"All this rvood makes fbr way too much of a lumber supply," said Court Stanley, president of Port Blakely Tree Farm, Tumwater. Wa., r'vho estimated the price of logs has dropped about 30Vo since late 2006. He said the several million board feet of timber his company has on the ground is enough to cover about 25%t of the company's 2008 harvest.

Green Diamond Resource Co.. Shelton, Wa., has about 2 to 3 million bd. ft. on the ground in hard-hit Lervis Cclunty, but company lands in Mason, Thurston, and Grays Harboruveren't hit too hard.

"We'll make the blorv-dorvn areas our harvest areas," said Keith Simmons, Green Diamond's manager of harvest planning and engineering. He said the full extent of the damage rvouldn't be known until the company completed survey work.

Weyerhaeuser Co. owns about 2 million acres in the southwest Washing-ton and coastal northern Oregon regions hit hardest by the hurricane-fbrce "vinds.

"We're still assessing it, but we have at least a f'ew thousand acres of blow-down," said Weyerhaeuser

Colville Mills Race In Recovery Operation

About 100 trucks a day unload at the Colville Tribe's two lumber mills in Omak, Wa., as loggers race to harvest timber from 9,000 acres burned in a fire last September.

"We have added another helicopter, making it three, and loggers are trying to get as much done as they can before roads start breaking up," said Darrell Dick, assistant forest manager of the tribe's nearly 1.4 million acres in northwestern

Washington.

Loggers want to finish by April, but icy roads and thawing may cause delays. The goal is to deliver 300,000 bd. ft. of pine logs to both the Colville Indian Power and Veneer mill and the Colville Indian Precision Pine mill. "The plywood mill is working 24 hours a day," said Dick. He said that work must be completed before warming weather starts turning pine logs blue, which lowers their value. spokesman Frank Mendizabel.

The fire, which investigators suspect was arson, started September l0 and burned more than 26,000 acres near the Mount Tolman Fire Center. Before loggers started working in early November, surveyors inspected the area and marked trees that may recover. New trees will be planted this summer, said Dick.

"The damage was sporadic, with no real pattern," said Kevin Godbout, director of external affairs at Weyerhaeuser. "Many of the trees were snapped, which is typical of hurricane damage."

Although the west side of the Olympic National Forest near Quinault and the east side near Quilicene appear hardest hit, total damages aren't known. "Forest Service lands aren't nailed as hard as state and private lands," said Kathy O'Halloran, natural resources staff officer for the national forest.

Timberlands belonging to the Department of Natural Resources lost more than 100 million bd. ft., said communications director Patty Henson. Much of the fallen timber is hemlock that must be salvaged within six to 15 months to avoid decay, according to Eric Schrofi manager of the Pacific Cascade region.

New Maker For Monarch Deck

Green Tree Composites, St. Clair, Mi., has struck an exclusive deal for Premium Composites, Veblen, S.D., to produce and promote its Monarch composite decking and railinss.

Distribution wholesalers. continue through Monarch's regional lf you're looking for quality and value from your insurance provider, please contact the PLM Marketing Department at 8O0.752.1895 or log onto www.plmins.com.

"Our focus for 2008 is advancements in new product development and adding additional distribution throughout the United States and Canada for increased market share. These goals are very attainable with this long-term relationship between our two companies," said Bill Schlottman, national sales manaqer for Monarch.

At PLM, we understand that you need an insurance company with property and casualty insurance products and services that you can trust, For over 'l OO years, our experts have been providing quality claims and risk management services to the lumber, woodworking and buifding material industries. Remember, "you get what you pay for." We understand wood. We know your business... because it's our business too.

Yesterday, T oday, Tomorrow... grow knowin g you're covered.

fohn K. Smith, CPCU President and Chief Executive Office