Value of CA Harvested Wood Drops by 10 Percent in 2007
According To California Forest Products Commission - Annual 'State Of The Industry' Report
AUBURN, Calif., June 23, 2008 - While harvesting of wood in California declined slightly in 2007, the value of the harvested wood dropped by more than 10 percent from 2006, the California Forest Products Commission said today in its annual state of the industry report.
About 1.625 billion board feet of wood was harvested in California, down from 1.631 billion board feet of wood harvested in 2006. However, the value of the harvested wood declined from $534 million in 2006 to $474 million in 2007.
"The decline in value puts further pressure on California businesses in the forest products industry," said Donn Zea, President of the California Forest Products Commission.
A consequence of the strain on forestland owners is that more land is being converted to other uses, according to a 2003 Forest and Range Assessment Program report by the California Resources Agency.
The report found that limited public understanding of management activities, low profitability for timber and livestock operations, and increasing regulatory costs lead to an acceleration of land use conversion.
"Ironically, the quandary faced by forestland owners comes at a time when the public benefit of forestland is more acknowledged than ever," Mr. Zea said. Among the vital roles forests play is their ability to combat climate change by absorbing harmful carbon dioxide and other gases and harvested wood is the only renewable major building product."
Mr. Zea added the amount of wood harvested continues to be near historic lows in California. Total harvested wood was the least since 2001 and was the second-lowest harvest amount in the last 30 years. The total harvested in 2007 was 60 percent less than what was harvested in 1990.
On privately owned land, California wood products companies harvested 1.440 billion board feet, up from 1.431 billion board feet in 2006, according to statistics compiled by the California Board of Equalization.
On public land, 187 million board feet was harvested, down slightly from 200 million board feet in 2006 and just a fraction of the 1.3 billion board feet harvested on public land, mostly federally owned, in 1990.
"Our federal forestlands remain overcrowded and at significant risk of catastrophic fire," Mr. Zea said. "While the industry has been able to partner with local and federal governments in some areas to reduce fire risk through harvesting, unfortunately these are the exception."
One result of the lack of harvesting on our forestlands, he said, is that California continues to rely on huge amounts of imported wood to meet its needs.
"California has abundant forests and the natural, renewable resources to help meet out wood product needs," Mr. Zea said.
For more information about the California Forest Products Commission, please visit www.calforests.org
Editor's Note: You can obtain 2007 harvest figures by County from the Forest Products Commission as well as historical statistics on a County-by-County basis.
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