Putting wood (naturally) back in Oregon's future

Published: Monday, April 11, 2011, 1:04 PM     Updated: Monday, April 11, 2011, 1:08 PM

By Guest Columnist

By Tom Holt

Virtually at the same time and for many of the same reasons, a federal agency and Oregon's forest sector have put forth initiatives that favor wood as a green building material.

Just last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new strategy to promote wood in construction for U.S. Forest Service and other USDA buildings to help meet green building requirements. "Wood has a vital role to play in meeting the growing demand for green building materials, and Forest Service studies show that wood compares favorably to competing materials," Vilsack said.

And earlier in March, Oregon's House Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee held a public hearing on House Bill 3429 -- a bill that would direct the state of Oregon to use wood as a preferred building material. Called the Oregon "Wood First" bill, it states that for structures built with state funds after July 1, 2012, the building materials used should be -- to the maximum extent possible and economically feasible -- made from wood. The bill was introduced by Rep. Mike Schaufler, D-Happy Valley, and Rep. Sherrie Sprenger, R-Lebanon, and is supported by the Oregon Forest Industries Council.

The Oregon bill is modeled after British Columbia's Wood First Act, passed in October 2009. Passage by the Oregon Legislature would make the bill the first of its kind in the United States.

British Columbia's minister of jobs, tourism and innovation, Pat Bell, steered the bill through that province's legislative assembly. He testified in person at the Oregon House hearing: "Government on both sides of the border can lead by example by making wood its preferred choice for public buildings. With wood used in just 15 percent of commercial and institutional construction, we have a major opportunity to expand the market for wood products." Bell said the program is producing positive results in his district and elsewhere in the province, and even those who opposed the legislation now recognize its merits.

If this were any state other than Oregon, we might toss these initiatives aside as so much industry posturing. But consider that Oregon is the nation's number one supplier of softwood lumber and plywood panels. We are among the nation's most forested states, second only to Alaska. The forest and wood products sector makes up about 8.5 percent of Oregon's total payroll and ranks in the top four among Oregon traded sectors -- those industries producing income for goods and services sold out of state.

From an environmental perspective, wood holds a competitive advantage over other building materials. It requires less energy to produce. It stores carbon, reducing its contribution to climate change. It's renewable, reusable and recyclable. The use of wood encourages investment in responsible forest management. Landowners are rewarded for keeping Oregon's working forests in a forested condition, conserving clean water, fish and wildlife habitat and recreation instead of selling them for a non-forest use. And Oregon's forests are protected by strong laws that require replanting.

Just think of the possibilities if Oregon were to become the nation's leading advocate for wood products -- more innovation, more stable markets, more jobs and a cleaner environment. The sustainable use of forests and wood products defines us as Oregonians. In this state, it just makes sense to embrace "wood first."

Tom Holt, of Forest Capital Partners in Portland, is chairman of the
Oregon Forest Industries Council.