Understanding Logging & Timber Practices across Oregon

 This is a follow up on the question of what timber companies I interacted with during my career with the Forest Service in timber sale contract administration.

I interacted with 17 mills on four National Forests (Six Rivers, Plumas, Siskiyou & Umpqua) from 1974-95.   Out of those 17 mills only 3 are still in business today.   Some of these mills went out of business due to labor union disputes, bought out by larger mills, a declining lumber market during the 1980's and a decreasing supply of logs.    

The Oregon Forest Resources Institute shows some interesting data in their 2019-20 edition of Oregon Forest Facts.  What they don't address is the number of logs that are exported to Asia from private timber lands, which has been as high as 1 in 3 logs and mostly from larger timber companies, such as Weyerhaeuser (Weyco).  Logs from public forests are restricted from being exported.    When Weyco did a hostile takeover of Willamette Industries  between 2000-2006 they liquidated much of the private timber holdings that they acquired from Willamette Industries and exported that timber to help pay for the takeover.   Other large timber companies have done the same.