Choices limited on what to do with California's 102M dead trees

There are now an estimated 102 million dead trees in California, creating unhealthy forests that are prone to major and catastrophic wildfires. Even though funds are being allocated to remove many of them, where will that timber go?
For now, there aren’t many options because of what has transpired from the government since 1968.

In that year the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior issued orders restricting the volume of timber that could be harvested from Federal lands in the West. It was updated in 1969 to limit the total harvested to 350-million-board-feet.

While those orders were made to protect forests, what was added to the provision in 1974 still affects how the West can handle trees cut down in the forest.

The Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation Act of 1974 prohibited the export of unprocessed timber harvested from Federal lands. Those who purchased timber could not have it in their facilities at the same time they had timber from private land that was heading overseas as American trees could then be substituted for private trees.

Unprocessed timber is:
a. any logs except those of utility grade or below, such as saw logs, peeler logs, and pulp logs;
b. cants or squares exceeding 8-3/4 inches in thickness that will be remanufactured;
c. split or round bolts, or other roundwood not processed to standards and specifications suitable for end product use.

The regulations on what can be done with timber in the West are not just on the Federal level, they are also defined on a state level in Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California.

In 1974, the State of California directed that "timber from state forests shall not be sold to any primary manufacturer, or to any person for resale to a primary manufacturer, who makes use of such timber at any plant not located within the United States unless it is sawn on four sides to dimensions not greater than 4 inches by 12 inches."

Fast forward to today.

In 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency due to the, at the time, 22 million dead trees in the state due to bark beetles and drought. With the dead trees in the state now numbering 102 million there are a lot of dead trees in communities, next to roads and utility lines, around homes as well as forest that are on private, State and Federal lands.

While fund are being made available to remove some of the trees, the milling capacity in the state has been greatly reduced since the 1980s. The State does not currently have the same infrastructure to handle the large number of trees that currently need to be milled.

As a result, many logs are sitting around, fungus ridden and drying. At some point the logs aren’t as valuable to the sawmilling industry and end up in landfill.
The desired result of trees removed from forests would be for them to go to a local mill, cut up and made usable.

“This is the highest and best use as it reduces cost and it still has economic value,” said Chris Anthony, Division Chief for Cal Fire who covers the South Lake Tahoe and Alpine County region.

Local mills aren’t always the option and there are many countries who want the dead trees. The problem goes back to the legislation created in the 70s and 80s. Forested timber on private lands can go overseas, but Anthony said a very high percentage of the current dead trees are on state and federal land.

“If we have the material, and can provide it to another country rather than sitting and rotting, it can be beneficial for both parties,” said Anthony. “The other countries may not have the excess lumber to use.”

There are two Chinese companies that currently export wood from Richmond, Calif., but most of it comes from private land. They do export smaller pieces that are allowed and will be used in China for chopsticks and coffins, with China using the privately harvested wood for formboards for building purposes.

Anthony said China will take logs that perhaps a local mill wouldn’t due to the stages of decay as the end use isn’t just for building homes. To get what they need, China is importing from several different countries now, but if current restrictions were lifted or amended, they could take many of the dead trees from California.

There are some creative and innovative entrepreneurs coming on board to take care of the timber. These people are using it for unique projects in homes and elsewhere for energy uses.

Firewood is always a use, but many of the markets near the highest percentage of dead trees are oversaturated with supply and many are not going through the effort to cut and sell, especially in the Mariposa and Fresno areas of California.

Burning Man, held on the Black Rock Desert in Nevada this week is one of those new uses for some of the dead trees. The Temple will be made of dead trees, the 18th year volunteers have created the large structure.

Using trees for energy was popular until the 1990s, but died off as the government subsidies went away. Plus, the burning produces unwanted greenhouse gases. This is where some of those innovative companies are coming into place as they develop ways to produce energy from the dead trees while being environmentally conscious.
Potential uses, or those already in place include Caltrans using chips from the dead trees on the state highway system, chips transported to be used on the Salton Sea to reduce dust.

As entrepreneurs try and figure out how they utilize the dead trees, there are many others trying to seek solutions as well.

The California Tree Mortality Task Force is comprised of state and federal agencies, local governments, utility companies and others who are working to not only monitor the emergency in forests, but to coordinate actions.

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) spoke at the 2017 Lake Tahoe Summit about working on legislation to remove prior restraints and allow the state to export the dead trees. Rep. Tom McClintock, whose district contains many of the state’s dead trees, is also a proponent of getting the timber out of the state. McClintock’s office told South Tahoe Now that they are working on legislative solution to allow for the export of California’s timber to other countries. They are currently looking for the best vehicle to make this get through the process in the quickest manner according to his staff.

"As we continue to work with all the authorities we have, we will continue to increase the pace and scale of ecological restoration across California,” said Acting Deputy Regional Forester for the Pacific Southwest Region, Jeff Marsolais.

“If we can offset costs where there is a buyer for the material it will save taxpayer money,” Anthony said if the ability to sell timber to foreign markets was allowed. “It makes sense to open export markets, even if only temporary.”