Pacific Northwest Research Station

ABOUT US

The Sustainable Wood Production Issue is one of the five current issues of focus for the PNW Research Station's Focused Science Delivery Program. This issue focuses on the production of a capstone report that will address the challenges and opportunities for the Pacific Northwest to produce wood in a sustainable forestry context. This issue relies heavily on university scientists and nongovernmental organizations to conduct the work.

RESEARCH AREAS

The Sustainable Wood Production Issue seeks to identify and understand key issues relating to sustainable wood production in Washington and Oregon. This initiative has identified six issues, based on client input, that affect the ability of landowners to sustainably produce wood in the region. This issue is intended to provide private landowners with information about how their management actions contribute to the regional economy, as well as how their lands contribute to the biological diversity of the region. These key issues include:

Identifying and understanding the major issues relating to wood production in the Pacific Northwest in the broad context of sustainable forestry.

Identifying barriers to sustainable forestry and assessing the impacts of incentives and environmental regulations on sustainable forest management.

Developing a regional assessment of resource trends and market conditions including the long-term economic viability of forestry in the region.

Assessing market opportunities for small woodland owners in the Pacific Northwest and identifying niche market and other opportunities for small landowners.

Identifying emerging technologies for wood products and summarizing and synthesizing new and existing information on wood technology.

Developing a comprehensive communication strategy for reporting findings to a broad client base of land managers, researchers, and the general public.

This initiative will summarize and synthesize information on these issues and, among other outputs, will produce a capstone report that will address the challenges and opportunities for the Pacific Northwest to produce wood in a sustainable forestry context.

(All papers below are in PDF)

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Timber Supply and Forest Resource Projections for the Pacific Northwest: A Progress Report

Forest Fragmentation and Land Use Change in the Pacific Northwest

Visual Resource Management and Sustainable Forestry

Red Alder Management in the Pacific Northwest

Older Forest Structure and Forest Certification

Can Washington State’s Sawmilling Sector Expand?

Technology and Information for
Wood Plastic Composites

Will Markets Provide Sufficient Incentive for Sustainable Forest Management?

Alternatives for Riparian Forest Management

This team's 2008 Science Accomplishments