Colorado Wood Utilization and Marketing Assistance Center
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
COLORADO WOOD UTILIZATION AND MARKETING ASSISTANCE CENTER 2003/04 Annual Report July 2004 ood Utilization an ado W d Ma olor rke C ting Assistance Center The Colorado Wood Utilization COUMAC was launched in July and Marketing Assistance Center of 2003 and is just entering its (COUMAC) is designed to second year. This report covers provide relevant assistance to forest activity between July 2003 and July stewards and businesses involved 2004. US Forest Service State and in improving the condition of Private funding for fiscal years 2003 Colorado’s forests. Colorado’s and 2004 has totaled $1,087,000. wood consumption continues to Colorado State Forest Service grow along with wildfire risks, yet (CSFS), CSU, and other partners are the state imports well over 90% providing a dollar for dollar match, of the solid wood products it uses. therefore doubling the funding COUMAC is working to make impact. linkages between forest health, loggers, sawmills, fuel mitigation COUMAC Provides: companies, local governments, • A small grants program focused manufacturers, builders, and on the utilization of wood consumers. products resulting from fuel reduction and restoration work COUMAC is a unique partnership • Workshops, conferences, and between the Colorado State Forest field experiences Service, US Forest Service, and Colorado State University. The • Applied research and program evolved out of lessons dissemination relevant to better learned from the Four Corners utilization of small diameter and under utilized species Sustainable Forests Partnership, Colorado State University (CSU) • Technical assistance through a based Interior West Center, team of experts assembled from and traditional approaches the cooperating entities and to Utilization and Marketing other sources Technical Assistance. Many of the program concepts were part Emphasis Areas: Biomass Innovations (energy, of Dr. Denny Lynch’s vision for a • composting, shavings, CSU based wood outreach center. mulch, chunk wood) The USDA Forest Service’s Forest • Value-Adding Products Laboratory in Madison, • Harvesting Efficiency Wisconsin has been an ally to our • Marketing efforts as well. • Product Development 1 Team Members: Joe Duda, Program Manager Bob Sturtevant, Extension Forester (907) 491-7546 State Wide (970) 491- [email protected] bsturt@ lamar.colostate.edu Carla Harper, Program Manager Gailmarie Kimmel, Interior West (970) 565-6061 Center, Building Trades Liaison [email protected] (970) 491-3260 [email protected] Chris Jennings, Manufacturing and Processing Chris Koziol, Interior West Center, (970) 491-2958 Director (970) 491-5665 [email protected] [email protected] Kurt Mackes, Research (970) 491-4066 [email protected] Tim Reader, Extension Forester Durango (970) 247-5250 [email protected] Craig Jones, Extension Forester Boulder (303)-823-5774 craigjo@ lamar.colostate.edu LEARN MORE AT OUR WEBSITE www.colostate.edu/programs/cowood 2 Highlights • 29 grant proposals for the • Piece-on-piece round wood Colorado National Fire Plan construction will appear at an Community Assitance Grants interpretive center on the San Juan Program were received with an National Forest. approximate request of $900,000. Eleven projects designed to • Forest Restoration and improve the utilization and fuel reduction equipment marketing of wood products were demonstrations on the Front Range chosen totaling $239,000. and Western Slope attracted over 100 attendees. • The Team made over 100 technical assistance contacts • A Wood Finishing and Adhesives based on business requests. Workshop drew 40 participants. • 27 applied research and/or • A Colorado Wood Branding publication efforts are completed Campaign is underway with or underway development of the Colorado Forest Products Logo (insert logo) and • The COUMAC team sponsored a partnership with the Colorado the Western States Utilization and Department of Agriculture’s Marketing Meeting. Approximately “Colorado Proud” program. 45 U&M specialists from around the West attended. • A statewide tour exposed industry to wood/plastic composite technology • Local materials, provided by local and possibilities. A mobile extruder business, appear in a “Discovery is under development. House” designed by a prominent Front Range homebuilder. See it • Staff was instrumental in bringing at http://www.mcstain.com/smart_ the Nederland Community Center growth/discovery_house.htm wood fired boiler into operation. • A comprehensive Wood Products Directory is available in both printed and CD format. An advanced 3 Highlights (continued) database of businesses in the state will soon be available and regularly updated. • Three workshops designed for US Forest Service project “Bidders” drew over 90 participants. Two more are planned along with a hands-on demonstration to help businesses register online with FedBiz and the State Forest Service. • Technical and small business development support/assistance resulted in recent investments in new small diameter sawmilling technologies along the Front Range of Colorado. • Technical and industrial support is moving businesses toward the development of innovative, environmentally friendly wood preservative facilities in Southwestern Colorado. 4 lorado’s Forest Pro of Co duc tate ts I S ndus try and Outlook The timber industry in Colorado diameter material in quantity have all and surrounding states has changed but disappeared. drastically over the last 30 years. The current forest products sector is Approximately 300,000 posts are used a “remnant industry” at best. The each year in Colorado for agricultural causes of this decline are numerous fencing. An additional 224,000 board and include but not limited to unstable feet of post and poles (about 25,000 supply, external competition, skill loss, to 30,000 posts and poles) are used lack of local or regional markets, an annually for residential post and pole increasingly hostile business climate and fencing. There are at least 7 mills that stakeholder polarization. The decline can produce post and poles along of local sawmills (primary breakdown) the Front Range (WY border to NM prevents moving Colorado wood into border). Combined capacity of these local secondary and tertiary production operations is estimated to be 125,000 levels, where value is added. As a result, to 150,000 posts. The preferred Colorado imports approximately 1.05 species (about 90% of the market) billion board feet (lumber) or 90% of is lodgepole pine. There are two the wood used in the state. treatment plants on Colorado’s Front Range, currently purchasing local It is estimated that there are currently material for treatment. close to 100 small milling operations around the state. These primarily There are 9 animal bedding, mulch represent one or two person operations and compost producers in Colorado. with local markets for rough sawn Approximately 130,000 cubic yards lumber and timbers, mine props, of this material is used per year. posts and poles, mulch, chips, animal It is estimated that approximately bedding and firewood. Many of the 80,000 cubic yards is imported to more successful small operations are Colorado each year. We have been logging contractors displaced by sawmill working to expand our market share closures who have bought small mills here: for example through grants and to stay in business. There are less than technical assistance Renewable Fiber five mills with any capacity in the state has installed a new processor and has to provide real employment or wood created a demand for 70-100 cords per utilization options. Those mills with day of small pine for animal bedding. capacity to deal with low value, small 5 The small diameter dilemma in the of treatment and processing. In many mid-90s is now more of a crisis with the situations cutting, skidding and sorting closure of US Forest Industries (studs) costs of this small material must be and Louisiana Pacific OSB both outlets subsidized in order to meet financial for small material. Out of state mill expectations of final product value. The closures have also reduced capacity; tradeoff is chipping and spreading back Rio Grande Lumber in Espanola, NM on the site or prescribed fire, both of closed in early 2004 and LP Saratoga, which have a cost and environmental WY closed in 2003. consequences. Since Colorado imports over 90 % of the wood it uses, there are opportunities to penetrate certain markets. COUMAC is providing technical assistance to all sectors of the forest products industry. Future restoration and mitigation programs must be designed to provide a consistent supply and at a reasonable price. No single product will utilize all the small trees needed to be removed. Instead, a stable, diverse wood industry is most desirable. It appears that 80-96% of the trees in need of removal to improve ecological conditions are between 5 and 11.9” in diameter. Approximately 4-18% are 12” and greater. These smaller diameter classes are a liability to the economics 6 Forest Products a lue to nd Im ng Va pro ddi ving P A roduct Marketing Much of the raw material available have a long way to go on this effort. in Colorado is small diameter (under Craig Jones has shown leadership in 12 inch dbh) or low quality. Primary this program area. species targeted for restoration or fuels reduction include ponderosa pine, • Front Range Colorado pinion juniper, and white fir. Aspen is Christmas tree Promotion currently one of the most marketable Campaign included website, species in the state