Forest Utilization & Marketing In This Issue: DNR updates forestry BMP Timber cruising procedures Market outlook Training opportunities

Bi-annual Newsletter June 13, 2017

Michigan DNR, MI forestry BMP guide updates Forest Products Society to The Sustainable Soil and Water Quality Practices on Forest Land, also known as host marketing workshop the Michigan forestry BMP guide, is being updated. A first draft of the document is available for your review. Please distribute this information to the key persons in your The Michigan Department of organizations who have interest and provide suggested edits back to Amy Lounds, Natural Resources and the Forest ([email protected]), and David Price ([email protected]) by June 30. The Products Society – Great Lakes new BMP guide will be used for the 2018 Sustainable Forestry Education training. Chapter will host two workshops on marketing practices for the Salvage sales in northeast Iron County forest products industry in Grand Following a severe storm that moved through the western Upper Peninsula in early Rapids and Gaylord on August 24 April, DNR forestry field staff has been cleaning up 699 acres of state forest land. and 25, respectively. Marketing Downed timber made three public state forest roads impassable. Deer Foot Lodge has been called the backbone of Road, Camp One Road and Fence River Road were cleared and opened thanks to successful forest products com- quick assessment and sale preparation by field staff and a local logging firm that took on the salvage work as a scale volume sale. Forestry staff will have two large panies, yet many manufacturers salvage sales available for bid in June with two more shortly thereafter. The first two struggle with marketing concepts. sales consist of 300 acres of aspen and 120 acres of northern hardwoods. Contact the Participants will learn about Crystal Falls DNR office for further details at 906-875-6622. marketing as it relates to forest products and how to gain a com- DNR to update timber cruising procedure petitive advantage in the industry. After a great deal of work by an internal team, the DNR's Forest Resources Division The workshop is designed for (FRD) has decided to update its timber cruising procedures. The current methods and business owners, managers and volume models have been in place for at least 40 years. Improvements in methodology and technology during that time have led the Division to review and evaluate better marketing personnel. The Grand ways to measure trees and calculate volumes. FRD will be adopting a variable radius Rapids workshop will be tailored plot sub-sampling (VRSS) protocol that utilizes taper models to determine volumes for cabinet and millwork shops; of measured trees and allows for sub-sampling of diameters and heights. The team is the Gaylord session for sawmills. now in the process working out the details of the new cruising procedures and select- Contact Dave Neumann at neu- ing software that will integrate into current technology and operating systems. A new [email protected] or (517) quality control process will be developed and implemented as well. You won’t see any changes in the near future, but the new process will be in place by October 2018. FRD 284-5887 or visit www.michigan. will keep you updated as the project progresses. Questions regarding the changes, staff gov/forestproducts for more training and the timeline of implementation can be directed to Doug Heym, Division information. Timber Sale Specialist, [email protected], 517-284-5867. Michigan Market Updates and Projections • Pulpwood – Most mill yards are full and happy with their inventories. Mar- Industry events: ket demand for paper products is fair, and good for engineered board prod- ucts, but because most are sitting on comfortable roundwood inventories, June 19 - 22 there is likely to be continued downward pressure on pulp prices. There is potential for some improvement if the housing market ticks upward this Intro to Hardwood Lumber summer and fall. Grading • Sawtimber – Demand has been good for upper-grade lumber. Mills report www.nhla.com having little difficulty moving upper grades, but more trouble with lower Grayling, MI grades. Lumber prices remain down for hard maple. Soft maple and red oak prices are good. • Industrial lumber - Markets are oversupplied. Mills report having difficulty July 11 moving lower-grade material. Mass Timber and Mid-Rise • Crosstie - Markets appear to be softening. Tie buyers in the region expect Construction to make fewer purchases this season and are actively trying to discourage www.woodworks.org production by offering lower prices. Demand for ties has softened in part Ann Arbor, MI due to lower shipments of coal and oil by rail, expiration of a key railroad infrastructure tax credit at the end of 2016 and reduced transportation of other commodities by rail. July 21 - 22 • Pallet cut stock and cants - Markets are very competitive right now, in part Forest Stewards Guild Lake due to the large volume of industrial lumber on the market and pressure States Meeting from Canadian softwood competition. www.forestguild.org • Residues - Mills report significant difficulty moving residues – bark, chips and sawdust – in part due to Verso's change in pulpwood blend last spring Woodruff, WI (reducing their consumption of softwood), reduced demand by energy generation facilities due to the low price of natural gas, and reduced de- July 25 mand by pellet manufacturers due to two successive mild winters that have Mass Timber Workshop left pellet producers with high inventories. Some mills say they’ve been cut www.mifbi.org off by their normal mulch outlets as well. Because of the large amount of mill residue that manufacturers are trying to move, it will likely continue to Grand Rapids, MI be difficult to move harvest residues this summer and fall. Aug. 7 - 10 State Road Inventory Update Kiln Drying Course Per PA 288, all state forest roads must be inventoried and mapped in the north- lsla.com ern Lower Peninsula (NLP) by December 31, 2017 and the Upper Peninsula Antigo, WI and southern Lower Peninsula by December 31, 2018. The act provides for opening state forest roads in the NLP for ORV use. Aug. 24 - 25 Maps of forest roads will be posted annually for the public. DNR will evaluate Marketing Practices for whether timber harvest activities offer the opportunity to connect existing Forest Products Industry roads and trails. Local governments will receive notification of new restrictions www.michigan.gov/forest- placed on forest roads or trails accessing public land. The law also provides for products cross country retrieval of certain big game species using ORVs and horses. Grand Rapids, MI Information and details can be found at www.michigan.gov/forestroads and Grayling, MI comment can be emailed to: [email protected]. *Full details available on page Public meetings for comment on all NLP state forest road changes have been one of this newsletter. scheduled and are as follows: Sept. 7 - 9 • Monday, June 19, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Great Lakes Logging Expo Quality Inn, 2980 Cook Rd., West Branch • Tuesday, June 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m. www.gltpa.org Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center, 6087 M-115, Cadillac Escanaba, MI • Wednesday, June 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jay’s Sporting Goods, 1151 S. Otsego Ave., Gaylord Good Neighbor Authority Update The DNR expects an approximate 36 percent increase in acres prepared for Sept. 12 - 15 2017 GNA timber sales as compared to 2016. Currently, 966 acres are planned "Non-Destructive Testing on the Huron Manistee National Forest, 806 acres on the Ottawa National and Evaluation of Wood Forest and 39 acres on the Hiawatha National Forest. The DNR is working with Symposium" each national forest to identify 2018 GNA projects by the end of the current Forest Products Society fiscal year. forestprod.org/symposium Madison, WI SmartLam first U.S. CLT manufacturer to earn SFI Chain Of Custody Certification Oct. 5 - 6 "Forests for Fish" The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) announced in early May that Michigan Society of SmartLam, LLC, is the first U.S. manufacturer of cross-laminated timber (CLT) American Foresters to be certified under the SFI 2015-2019 Chain-of-Custody Standard. Based in conference northwest Montana, SmartLam is also the first manufacturer to produce CLT michigansaf.org in the U.S. SmartLam manufactures CLT for a variety of applications, including Grayling, MI floor, roof and wall systems. SFI's Chain-of-Custody Standard helps companies address the growing demand from governments, customers and consumers for Oct. 18 responsibly sourced forest products. "Promotion of Woodwork Standards Through Educa- Portable bridges, crane mats and interlocking mats available tion and Community" The Michigan DNR has several resources available to assist in accessing state Architectural Woodwork timber sales that involve a stream crossing or wetland areas. These resources Association - Great Lakes include portable bridges, traditional tie crane mats and composite interlocking Chapter mats. The DNR is purchasing more bridges and mats to meet growing needs www.awigreatlakes.org throughout the state. With the use of these resources, sustainable timber man- Location TBA agement can occur on otherwise inaccessible lands. If you have a state timber sale where access can be improved by use of a portable bridge or mats, work Oct. 25 - 27 with your local timber sale administrator or contact Chad Fate in the Lower 11th International Confer- Peninsula at [email protected] or Jen Burnham in the Upper Peninsula at ence on Wood Adhesives [email protected] to check availability and schedule installation. forestprod.org/woodadhe- sives Atlanta, GA

Nov. 15 - 19 "The Future of Forestry: Meeting Diverse Needs in a Changing World" Society of American Foresters www.eforester.org Acres of timber sales on Arauco Update state forest lands in 2017 Arauco in Grayling, Michigan is expected to start purchasing raw material in fall of 2017 for their new Management Unit Total estimated sale acres particle board plant currently under construction; 70 Baraga 2,897 percent of their raw material will likely come from pulpwood – about 700,000 cords per year. It's not clear Crystal Falls 5,566 how much hardwood pulp they will take. It is likely Gwinn 3,074 that at least 60 to 70 percent of their roundwood will Escanaba 3,089 be softwood species. As much as 40 percent of their raw material may come from mill residues, according West U.P. Total 14,626 to their procurement manager. This may relieve some Shingleton 4,959 of the strain on residue markets, and free up an outlet Newberry 3,789 for harvest residues in 2018. Sault Ste. Marie 3,060 East U.P. Total 11,807 Grant Opportunities Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program, up to$3.6 U.P. Total 26,433 million available to applicants. See www.michigan. Gaylord 7,128 gov/dnr-grants for more information. Pigeon River 1,184 Atlanta 4,634 USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant Open for Applications. See the U.S. Department Grayling 4,896 of Agriculture website for more information. East L.P. Total 17,842 Traverse City 8,324 Cadillac 2,826 Roscommon 3,110 Gladwin 2,688 West L.P. Total 16,948 For more information regarding the DNR’s Forest Utili- zation and Marketing Program, please contact Brenda L.P. Total 34,790 Haskill at [email protected] or David Neumann at State Total 61,224 [email protected].