Stronger timber market means more income for county

A booming economy in China is providing some good news for Wahkiakum County government: The boom in building across the Pacific Ocean has created a demand for Pacific Northwest timber that has spurred a rise in revenue off state-managed, county trust lands.

The revenue from trust timber land provides a large portion of the revenue for the county's Current Expense Fund, which finances most courthouse offices.

County commissioners based their 2011 budget on a total of $1.3 million, and timber revenues should be close to that, representatives of the state Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday.

The agency generated $1.297 million for 2011, said St. Helens District Manager Steve Ogden. Harvests should produce at least $1.1 million in 2011 and possibly up to $1.6 million, depending on timber purchasers' financial plans.

"It looks like we're looking at $1.3 million for each year," Marsyla said, "which is just about what we need to operate the county."

The DNR sells most timber sales on contracts with two summer logging seasons, so purchasers can play the markets.

"Pretty obviously, it's a cash flow issue," said Commissioner Dan Cothren, who works in the timber industry. He predicted that a sale set to go to bid in June on a two year contract will be logged this year and not in 2012.

Markets have strengthened in the past six months, Ogden said.

In June the department offered 14 sales statewide, and only seven sold. They had an average price of $293 per 1,000 board feet (MBF) of timber.

In December, the department offered another 14, and all sold with an average price of $370 per MBF.

"So the last quarter of 2010 was pretty optimistic, Ogden said.

The main reason, he and Cothren agreed, is the demand from Chinese buyers for lumber. Timber from state-managed land by law can't be exported, but the demand creates an opening in the domestic market which state-managed timber can fill.

No one knows how long the demand from China will last. "It could last several years, or it could disappear this summer," he said.

Cothren commented that he has seen projections that the demand could last five years.

If sales went as anticipated, the county would receive $1.1 million in 2011 and $1.467 million in 2012.

Ogden said foresters are preparing sale plans for 2013, and he should be able to share those rough estimates in April.