Introduction
Forest products have been an important contributor to the economy of Alaska for over half a century. Sitka spruce and western hemlock of very high quality have been exported as logs, lumber and timbers into the Pacific Rim for the past forty years. The lower quality portion of the timber was used to produce dissolving pulp which was sold around the world for producing rayon, pharmaceuticals, and fine quality paper products.
Until
the mid 1980s,
almost all
of the export
volume of
Alaska wood
fiber products
originated
from the
coastal rain
forest of
Southeast
Alaska. At
that time,
the Southcentral
forest, also
a coastal
rain forest,
experienced
an increasing
volume harvest
and export
of logs and
lumber. The
interior "boreal" forest
in Alaska,
containing
commercial
stands of
white spruce
and paper
birch, has
not been
exploited
to a comparable
degree.
Approximately
one hundred
commercial
sawmills
and secondary
manufacturers
operate across
the state.
These range
from ten
to twenty
mills that
produce more
than 1mmbf
of products
annually,
with a select
few of those
producing
25 mmbf or
more, to
mobile dimensional
mills sawing
personal-use
wood from
national and state
forests for
individual
clients.
Products
produced
by Alaska
mills vary
across a
wide range
that is somewhat
heavily weighted
on the primary
processing
end of the
spectrum.
Products
include:
large cants
and flitches,
shop lumber
destined
for remanufacture,
dimensional
lumber, railway
ties, shakes and shingles,
music wood,
and a host
of specialty
and craft
products.
Recent
years have
been tough
ones for
the industry,
but significant
changes are
moving the
industry
toward value-added
processing
and long-term
sustainability.
Southeast
Alaska’s
two pulp
mills, in
Sitka and
Ketchikan,
closed in
1993 and
1997, respectively.
The Tongass
Land Use
Management
Plan (TLMP)
issued in
1997 significantly
reduced allowable
harvest levels,
and most
Asian markets
are experiencing
dramatic
downturns
in demand
and price.
However,
many Alaskans
are responding with a new
entrepreneurial
focus on
value-added
processing,
and the fundamentals
that created
a vibrant
industry,
a world-class
resource
and a skilled,
productive
workforce,
remain in
place. |
