Timber market gives optimism to county for timber revenue

Improvement to the timber market should bring more revenue to Wahkiakum County, a state Department of Natural Resources forester said Tuesday.

SW Washington Manager Steve Ogden reported Tuesday to the board of county commissioners, saying Wahkiakum County should receive around $1.14 million in revenue from state managed trust timber lands in 2011. The funds are a major revenue source for the county's Current Expense Fund and courthouse offices.

The four-year average for revenue from county trust lands is $1.12 million, he said.

Strong overseas demand for timber has pushed the market up, he said. In April, 2010, the average price of timber was $285 per 1,000 board feet; in March, 2011, the price was $422.73 per thousand.

"It's a very interesting time," he said. "We're not out of the woods yet."

State and federal law prohibit the export of timber from state or federal timberland, so private timber companies have been sending their logs overseas. This leaves domestic mills looking for timber off state and federal land, but the domestic housing market remains weak, and the higher price of timber and fuel are a drain on the local mills.

"There are two markets and one supply of the commodity," Ogden said, and "their price indexes are different. Domestic mills are having a hard time competing with the foreign markets."

Commissioner Dan Cothren, who works in the timber industry, said he has heard predictions that the foreign demand will remain strong for the next 10 years because of economic growth in China and Japan's need to rebuild following the March earthquake.

DNR foresters have sales planned for this year and next to continue a sustained income for the county.

However, if the market remains high, purchasers could log them as soon as possible and bring revenue anticipated for 2012 or 2013 up a year, forcing adjustments to the county budgets.

Also, certain environmental groups are pressuring the DNR to cancel sales in western Washington in areas with certain habitat that could be used by marbled murrelets, an endangered species. One sale that could be affected is the county's Green Thomas sale, Ogden said, which is estimated to generate $250,000 for the county.

Commissioners said they are aware of the challenge. They have sent a letter to the board of Natural Resources and to Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark opposing the proposed closures. They reminded the officials that the state has a fiduciary responsibility to manage the trust land for the county's benefit, and adding that the lands and harvests are being managed under terms of a habitat conservation plan (HCP) developed with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Goldmark responded in a letter to the commission that he understands the need to maintain the agency's fiduciary responsibility to the county and the need to maintain a sustainable harvest for county revenue.

Commissioners also agreed Tuesday to send a similar letter to Fish and Wildlife managers about the issue.