PUBLICATIONS AND DATA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station has launched a research initiative to improve and organize policy-relevant understanding of forest carbon accounting and fill knowledge gaps about forest carbon dynamics. There are several dimensions to forest carbon accounting, including tracking wood products flow from the forest to various destinations. More information is needed to improve the accounting of timber harvested within the Pacific coast region (PCR; British Columbia, California, Oregon, and Washington) but processed elsewhere. We examined PCR timber harvest volumes and the flow of sawlogs, pulplogs, and woodchips between the PCR and the rest of the world for the period 1990?2018.

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) has collected log hauling costs in Montana and North Idaho since 2010. The early surveys were fairly complex. Following discussion with several individuals knowledgeable in the trucking and logging industry, BBER researchers developed a postcard approach to collect the basic information needed to estimate log hauling costs over a range of distances and cost of diesel fuel. We also collected information that helped describe their longevity in the industry, the size of operation and the number of loads hauled in 2021. A copy of the postcard is displayed in Appendix 1.

Farming and Ranching: Navigating Another Drought By George Haynes and Kate Fuller
Forest Products: COVID-19 Hangover Impacts Wood Products By Steven Hayes and Todd A. Morgan
Energy Montana's Energy and Minerals Future By Bill Whitsitt
Manufacturing: Shipping and Supply Chain Are Big Concerns By Robert Sonora
Travel, Tourism and Recreation: Staffing Shortages Cause Concern By Jeremy Sage
Health Care: COVID-19 Drives Exodus of Health Care Workers By Robert Sonora
Real Estate and Construction: Boom or Bubble? By Derek Sheehan
Transportation and Logistics: The Roller Coaster Ride Continues By Simona Stan
Technology and Innovation: Pandemic Has Not Slowed Montana's Growing Tech Sector By Christina Quick Henderson

A review of U.S. Forest Service land management accomplishments, budget and litigation since complying with the National Environment Policy Act.

A construction and remodeling boom has driven the demand for lumber and far exceeded the supply, causing lumber prices to rise all over the country.

Alaska forest managers seek information on how timber harvesting practices change the creation of postharvest woody residues. To predict residue volumes, researchers investigated how residue ratios?growing-stock residue volume per mill-delivered volume?related to readily available data on logging site and tree attributes in Alaska. Residue ratios were not related to logging site-level variables but were related to individual tree variables with predictive models. Ratios varied widely by tree species and were predicted to increase with larger stump height and larger small-end used diameters and decline exponentially with increasing diameter breast height (dbh) to approximately 25 inches. Ratios were then predicted to increase progressively in larger dbh trees. Results from this study update previous findings in other US Northwest states and can be used to produce or improve residue prediction tools for Alaska land managers.

Farming and Ranching - A Year of Volatile Commodity Prices and Near-Record Stimulus Payments Forest Products - Montana Wood Products in the Time of COVID-19 Energy - The COVID-19 Recession Impacts Prices Manufacturing - Continued Growth Is Interrupted by the Pandemic Travel, Tourism and Recreation - Crowds Flock To Montana During COVID Summer Transportation and Logistics - 2020 Was a Year of Disruption Health Care - COVID-19 Alters Health Care Landscape Technology and Innovation - Remote Work, Zoom Towns and a Spotlight on Biotech Real Estate and Construction - The Seller's Market Continues

Softwood logs comprise a large portion of forest products exports from the United States. Most of these exports have occurred between the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and several Asian countries. In this study, the extent and degree of market integration of softwood log exports from 1996 to 2018 are examined by cointegration analyses and permanent-transitory decomposition. Softwood log exports to Japan and South Korea appear to be in the same economic market and show a high degree of integration, while trade between the United States and China has evolved more independently. A detailed analysis is conducted on five prices related to Japan and South Korea with full-time coverage, and one common integrating factor is found and estimated. The price of export from the Columbia-Snake Customs District to Japan is identified as the driving force. Price responses to market shocks usually occur within four months. These findings have implications for government agencies and participants in the market of softwood log trade.

This article looks at nine of Montana's key industries; Farming and Ranching: Price Declines and Exports Make for a Challenging Year, Forest Products: Positive Signs for Montana, Energy: What to Watch for in 2020, Manufacturing: Montana Outpaces Nation as a Whole, Travel, Tourism and Recreation: Nonresident Visitation Stable, Health Care: The Impact of Medicaid Expansion, Transportation and Logistics: A Shortage of Drivers Continues to Cause Concern, Technology and Innovation: Record Revenue, Jobs and Venture Capital Investment, Real Estate and Construction: Housing Markets Lack Inventory.

What would the economy of Ravalli County look like today if timber harvests hadn?t declined?

Conclusions from a Headwaters Economics report on timber-dependent communities in Idaho are incorrect ? analyzing the wrong variables and using the wrong statistical test.

The trend in Montana's timber harvests, which has been dropping since the late 1980s, has been the major cause of declining employment and labor earnings in Montana's forest industry.

Forest related industries have long played a major role in Montana?s economy ? especially in the western part of the state. The decades-long drum roll of layoffs, reduced employment and mill closings have been the subject of many discussions and headlines in the media. This paper takes a systematic view of Montana?s forest industry during the past few decades and identifies the major causes of industry trends. The conclusion is that timber harvest volumes in Montana are the major factor impacting industry conditions, including employment and labor earnings. Labor productivity has generally increased in Montana?s larger timber-processing facilities, but these gains are not driving reduced employment and labor earnings in Montana?s forest industry.

As in many western communities with a timber heritage, the forest industry in Ravalli County in southwestern Montana has undergone dramatic changes, growing substantially in the decades after World War II and contracting since the 1990s (Keegan et al. 2006). Just 17 primary wood products facilities were operating in Ravalli County during 2014 (Hayes and Morgan 2017) and capacity to process timber was 13 million board feet (MMBF) Scribner, with the majority of that capacity in the log home sector. By contrast, in 1988 the county?s 29 active facilities had a capacity of 91 MMBF ? seven times larger than today.

The U.S. Forest Service hopes to improve forest health and reduce wildfires with increased timber harvests.

Beginning in the late 1990s, the pine forests of Montana began to experience the largest mountain pine beetle outbreak in recorded history.

Over the past 20 years the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) has caused considerable tree mortality across the Rocky Mountain region of the western United States. Though the operational and cost impacts of dead timber are generally well known in the sawmill industry, there remains a need to better understand the impact of large scale outbreaks on the industry at local and regional scales. Using an expert opinion survey of sawmill managers and procurement staff, this study quantified the relative importance of various cost and operations factors related to harvesting and processing beetle killed timber in Montana. Respondents reported an average log supply of trees in the red or gray stage of mortality as 24.5 percent of log supply from 2010 to 2014, but this dropped to 5.8 percent by 2015. Cracking and checking were perceived as having the highest negative impact on log value, while waste in milling and breakage of logs in handling were ranked highest for milling operations. For a typical lodgepole pine stand, the volume estimated as sawlogs showed a 15 percent decrease between green and red stages and a 50 percent decrease between red and gray stages, with most of the volume change moving into the pulpwood category. Total average cost increases from green to gray for logging, loading and hauling, and sawmilling were 43 percent, 46 percent and 46 percent, respectively. Results generally support known relationships between defects, costs, recovery, and value, with some interesting departures with regards to blue stain and equipment maintenance.

Insect and disease outbreaks in the central Rocky Mountains reached epidemic levels in the last two decades resulting in vast stands of dead trees across parts of Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota. Both the States and the Forest Service have increased investments in forest health, hazardous fuels mitigation and safety protection on private and public lands (Wyoming State Forestry Division 2017; State of Colorado 2017; USFS MBRNF 2017). These and other treatments designed to restore ecological condition and function and reduce fire hazard require the removal of a mix of timber valuable enough to offset some of the costs along with smaller trees with limited value and markets (Wagner et al. 2000). The loss of milling infrastructure throughout the West, combined with changing management objectives on federal lands, raise questions about the industry?s ability to purchase timber of varying sizes and quality at a rate that is adequate for the forest and sustainable for the industry (Keegan et al. 2005; Keegan et al. 2006).

In order for land management agencies to meet societal expectations for wood products, wildfire risk reduction, and other goods and services, managers need accurate and up-to-date information on the ability of markets to utilize timber of various sizes and variable quality. Timber harvesting also creates opportunities to offset the cost of treatments while producing value added products. This technical report looks at forest industry capacity for the RioGrande National Forest and surronding market area.

The 2017 Economic Outlook Seminar covered a wide range of sectors and topics from job growth to energy and tourism. In this round table discussion, we highlight some of those topics and industries in an effort to better understand the state?s economic climate.

The University of Montana?s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) Forest Indus try Research Program participated in the NARA System Metrics Sustainable Production Team (a.k.a. the Sustainability Measurement Team), collecting and providing detailed measures of forest industry activity in the four-state NARA region. The primary data that BBER produced on the characteristics of timber harvest, logging residue, and mill residue were used by other NARA scientists to further analyze the financial and logistic availability of logging residue as a biojet feedstock and the potential viability of a biojet industry in the Pacific Northwest. These data have also been made broadly available to the public through the BBER?s website, the Forest Inventory and Analysis Timber Product Output (FIA-TPO) online database, and by request.

To update regional timber harvesting and logging residue information, a study of logging sites across Oregon and Washington was conducted from 2011 through 2015. This study was designed to quantify the creation of logging residue from commercial timber harvesting at the state level, and characterize harvested trees and harvesting activities within each state.

Presently there is a lack of information describing US southwestern energy consumption and emissions generated from the sawmilling industry. This article uses a mail survey of softwood sawmills in the states of Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico to develop a profile of on-site energy consumption and selected emissions for the industry. Energy consumption is categorized by fuel type on a production basis for both renewable and nonrenewable sources for production year 2012. Selected emissions from on-site energy consumption were also estimated for respondent sawmills. Survey respondents represented 35 percent of total softwood lumber production of 169.2 million board feet. Total annual on-site sawmill energy required was 64.8 billion British thermal units. Sixty-one percent was derived from diesel fuel, primarily for on-site rolling stock; 35 percent was from electricity; 3 percent was from gasoline used for on-site rolling stock; and the remainder was from propane and wood. Energy produced from nonrenewable sources accounted for 94 percent of total on-site energy consumption. Off-site electricity generation for consumption at sawmills comprise the majority of all emissions in this analysis: 62 percent of CO2, 99 percent of CH4, 94 percent of NOX, 99 percent of SOX, and 99 percent of particulate matter <= 10 um (PM10). Diesel fuel, which supplies the majority of on-site energy, comprises 36 percent CO2, 0 percent CH4, 5 percent NOX, 0.4 percent SOX, and 1.1 percent of PM10.

Total on-site energy requirements for wood product manufacturing are generally not well understood or publicly available, particularly at subregional scales, such as the state level. This article uses a mail survey of softwood sawmills in Montana to develop a profile of all on-site energy consumption. Energy use is delineated by fuel type on a production basis for both renewable and nonrenewable sources for production year 2009. Survey respondents represented 92 percent of total Montana softwood lumber production of 449 million board feet, which is 4 percent of western US production and 2 percent of national production. Total annual on-site sawmill energy required was 1.6 trillion British thermal units. Seventy-seven percent was derived from wood and bark, primarily for process heat and steam for lumber drying; 16 percent was from electricity; 5 percent was from diesel used for on-site rolling stock; and the remainder was from gasoline, propane, and natural gas. Energy produced from renewable sources accounted for 86 percent of total on-site energy consumption. In addition to providing an energy profile of Montana sawmills for policymakers, aggregated results may be useful to individual firms in characterizing their energy requirements relative to the state average and in identifying potential opportunities for bioenergy expansion.

This report traces the flow of Oregon?s 2013 timber harvest through the primary wood products industry and provides detailed description of the structure, timber use, operations, and condition of Oregon?s forest products sector. It is the third in a series of reports that update the status of the industry every 5 years, and is based on a census of timber-using facilities conducted during 2014. Historical forest products industry changes are discussed, as well as trends in harvest, production, mill residue, and sales. Also examined are employment and worker earnings in the state?s primary and secondary forest products industry.

Pacific Northwest forest managers seek estimates of post-timber-harvest woody residue volumes and biomass that can be related to readily available site- and tree-level attributes. To better predict residue production, researchers investigated variability in residue ratios, growing-stock residue volume per mill-delivered volume, across Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. This project presented unique sample design challenges, and the authors adopted model-based sampling to calculate the growing-stock logging residue ratio for the four-state region and produced models that relate the residue ratio to individual tree- and stand-level variables meaningful to land managers. The regionwide residue ratio was 0.0269, i.e., 26.9 ft3 of growing-stock logging residue per 1,000 ft3 (26.9 m3 per 1,000 m3) of mill-delivered volume. Residue ratios were related to tree- and site-level variables with predictive models. Residue ratios were predicted to increase with larger small-end used diameter and decline exponentially with increasing dbh. Ratios were predicted to drop when pulp logs were removed and when timber was mechanically felled. Results from this study could be used to produce or improve residue prediction tools for land managers.

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana was contracted to conduct a study on the utilization of local contractors by the Colville National Forest through the NEW Forest Vision 2020 Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) project. The purpose of the study aimed to identify and measure the opportunities and benefits the NEW Forest Vision 2020/CFLRP program is bringing to communities in the region. The BBER used records of service contracts, timber sale contracts and agreements to characterize the number of local entities (businesses, nonprofits, agencies, etc.) involved in meeting the restoration objectives of the CFLRP through the NEW Forest Vision 2020.

2015 was a year of challenges and disappointments for wood products markets. New home starts in the U.S. failed to materialize at predicted levels and the Chinese economy?s slowdown reduced exports of logs, lumber, and other wood products from U.S. and Canadian producers to Asia.

Montana's forest industry is comprised of more than 80 active facilities that manufacture a variety of wood products. The industry receives its raw material - timber - from forests both inside and outside the state, relying on landowners, foresters, loggers and truck drivers to provide that timber year after year. Montana mills sell their forest products into local, national and international markets. Throughout this supply chain, from forest to mill to final consumer, there are numerous uncertainties and constant changes in both timber supply and wood products demand.

Pacific Northwest forest land managers seek estimates of timber harvest woody residue volumes and biomass without the use of detailed inventory data. The logging utilization residue ratio, growing stock residue volume/mill delivered volume, can be applied to projected timber harvest volumes to estimate residue volumes without the use of tree list inventories at stand, landscape, and state levels. Research results characterize felled tree attributes such as residue and utilized volumes by tree section- from stump to tree tip. Bole, branch, and foliar biomass (i.e., non-growing stock portions of logging) residues can then be estimated with allometric equations.

Strong growth in Montana manufacturing employment occurred despite permanent closures in several manufacturing industries. Employment in the wood and paper products industry decreased by 550 workers between 2009Q2 and 2013Q3. Employment in all the other components of Montana manufacturing increased by about 1,600 workers, or 11.3 percent. In summary, since the start of the recovery Montana manufacturing employment has increased considerably faster than the national rate. This strong performance was in spite of permanent closures in the wood and paper products industries.

This report provides information on the agency costs and other impacts associated with litigation of forest management projects in the Northern Region (i.e., Region One) of the Forest Service (FS) through a combination of literature review, information provided by the agency?s Region One (R1) and Washington offices, and a case study of the Spotted Bear River (SBR) project on the Flathead National Forest. Data to determine the total cost of litigation are not readily available from publicly accessible or even internal databases, and a high level of cooperation is needed from personnel at various levels within the involved agencies in order to determine the costs and other impacts associated with litigation.

The federal government is a major land owner in the western part of Montana, and many communities benefit from management of these lands. Restoration and maintenance projects on national forests can provide economic benefits to local and regional communities in the form of jobs, wages, and the secondary effects generated when businesses buy supplies in the community and workers spend their wages. Federal contracting of restoration and maintenance also provides other nonmonetary benefits: enhancement of natural and human capital such as improved ecosystem function, enhancement of business capacity, and the ability for individuals and families to stay in the community.

Logging utilization studies provide valuable insights on the efficiency of timber harvesting at the state level. They provide removals factors that quantify the proportions of logging residue relative to mill-delivered volume for a commercial timber harvest. These studies quantify the relationship between logging residue creation and tree diameter. They also characterize logging methods and systems employed. This poster summarizes results from studies in Idaho (2008-11), California (2004), and Montana (2002).

A review of the Forest Products Industry in Montana for 2014 and the outlook for 2015.

A wide-ranging discussion covering economic topics of interest. The discussions include: the Economy, Healthcare, Tourism and Recreation, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Forest Products, Housing, and Energy. A panel of industry experts and economists provide their responses to important questions regarding Montana?s economy.

This station Bulletin of the Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station Moscow, Idaho examines current conditions of the Idaho Forest Products Industry and its outlook for 2015. Topics examined include: sales by sector, economic impact, lumber production trends, employment and worker income, and value-added by forest products manufacturing.

This poster presents the findings of the Bureau's Survey of California forest products mill operations for 2012. It graphically presents the location/types of mills, California timber harvest by species, disposition, timber processing capacity and sales value. It also summarizes the results and highlights of the survey.

This poster presents the findings of the Bureau's Survey of Four Corners state's forest products mill operations for 2012. It graphically presents the location/types of mills, timber harvest by species, ownership, timber processing capacity & use, and industry employment. It also summarizes the results and highlights of the survey.

This poster presents the findings of the Bureau's Survey of Idaho forest products mill operations for 2011. It graphically presents the location/types of mills, Idaho timber harvest by species, product type, timber processing capacity and sales value. It also summarizes the results and highlights of the survey

In an effort to help quantify the economic impacts of forest management, information from public databases was used to estimate direct forest industry employment from the harvesting and processing timber. Employment estimates per unit of timber harvested are referred to as direct response coefficients (DRCs). This research provides employment DRCs for 16 forest industry sectors and 11 regions within the Unites States. Employment DRCs are expressed as number of workers per million cubic feet (MMCF) of timber harvested and processed on an annual basis.

The objective of this poster is to describe the value and types of restoration work occurring in the Southwestern Crown of the Continent, along with who is capturing that work, and provide a baseline against which future investments made through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program could be compared.

This poster summarizes the results from the Bureau's study of the 2013 Oregon Forest Products Industry. Information about Plant production, capacity, and employment; Volume of raw material received, by county and ownership; Species of timber received and live/dead proportions; Finished product volumes, types, sales value, and market locations; and Utilization and marketing of manufacturing residue is presented was collected during the survey and much of it summarized in this poster.

This poster presents the findings of the Bureaus's Survey of Alaska forest products mill operations for 2011. I graphical presents the location/types of mills, Alaska timber harvest by species, ownership, timber processing capacity and use, primary wood products and mill residues, and log and pulpwood exports by destination. It also summarizes the results and highlights of the survey.

Forest managers are constantly faced with the need to reliably estimate harvest costs. Because of the inherently variable conditions under which logging occurs, estimating costs inexpensively is challenging. Yet costs estimates for timber harvest are especially important as new treatments aimed at ecosystem restoration are developed. The Bureau conducts surveys on logging and hauling costs during alternate years to help managers develop cost estimates for various scenarios.

A study of commercial timber-harvesting activities in Idaho was conducted during 2008 and 2011 to characterize current tree utilization, logging operations, and changes from previous Idaho logging utilization studies. A two-stage simple random sampling design was used to select sites and felled trees for measurement within active logging sites. Thirty-three logging sites and 815 felled trees were measured. Results of the 2008/2011 study indicated that harvesting efforts removed 1,011 cubic feet (cf) of timber volume from growing stock for every 1,000 cubic feet (mcf) delivered to the mill, created 24 cf of growing-stock logging residue, and that 13 cf of non-growing-stock (stump wood and tops above 4 inches diameter outside bark (dob)) were delivered to the mill. This compared to 1,086 cf of growing-stock removals that created 95 cf of growing-stock logging residue and utilized 9 cf of non-growing-stock per mill-delivered mcf in a 1990 study. This study confirmed two long-term timber harvesting trends in Idaho: declining diameter at breast height (dbh) of harvested timber, and declining amounts of logging residue generated per unit of mill-delivered volume.

Bureau of Business and Economic Research's Annual report for fiscal 2012 - 2013 details the activities and finances for the year. Each of the BBER's programs are reviewed and various research projects and publications are highlighted.

The first decade of the Twenty-first Century proved tumultuous for the West's forest products industry. A strong economy, low interest rates, easy access to credit, and real estate speculation fostered more than two million U.S. housing starts in 2005 and record lumber consumption from 2003 to 2005. With the decline in U.S. housing beginning in 2006, the 2008 global financial crisis, an over 50-year record low 554,000 housing starts in 2009, wood product prices and production fell dramatically. In 2009 and 2010, virtually every major western mill suffered curtailments and 30 large mills closed permanently. Sales value of wood and paper products in the West dropped from $49 billion in 2005 to $34 billion in 2009. Employment declined by 71,000 workers and lumber production fell by almost 50 percent from 2005 to 2009. Capacity utilization at sawmills and other timber-using facilities in the West fell from over 80 percent in 2005 to just over 50 percent in 2009 and 2010. With the exception of exports and some paper markets, U.S. wood products markets have improved little since the recession officially ended in 2009.

The goal of this study is to provide Forest Service planners with estimates of the forest products industry's total timber-processing capacity and capability to utilize trees of various sizes from the National Forests in Region One. The specific project objectives are to: 1. identify the timber-processing area supplied by Region One, 2. estimate timber-processing capacity of facilities in the area, 3. quantify the volume of timber currently processed from trees of various sizes, and 4. estimate the capability of existing facilities to utilize trees of various sizes. The study focuses its examination on facilities that exclusively use timber in round form (i.e., logs). Timber use and processing capacity of the pulp and paper industry, which primarily uses mill residues, are discussed separately from timber used for sawn and solid roundwood products.

Reports operating conditions, sales, production, and employment for Montana's forest products industry for 2012. Includes an outlook for 2013.

An overview of Idaho's forest products industry in 2012 including operating conditions, sales, employment, and production. It concludes with the outlook for 2013.

Q & A with Bureau economists and industry experts throughout the state about the latest economic trends and forecasts, as well as the outlook for Montana's important sectors.

This has been a long recession for the Missoula County economy, but the end may finally be in sight. The latest data for employment show definite growth during 2012 while corresponding figures for inflation-adjusted wages also turned upward, but with significant volatility.

The objective of this study is to determine the spatial distribution of businesses engaged in restoration activities in the SW Crown and measure the success of local contractors in accessing these job opportunities while comparing these trends to the surrounding region, previous years, and non-Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) projects.

Will what happened in British Columbia with the mountain pine beetle happen in Montana? No. However, forests are changing and will affect Montana's economy through impacts on the wood products industry and tourism.

This report traces the flow of Oregon's 2008 timber harvest through the primary timber processing industry and provides a description of the structure, operation, and condition of Oregon's forest products industry as a whole. It is the second in a series of reports that update the status of the industry every 5 years. Based on a census conducted in 2009 and 2010, we provide detailed information about the industry in 2008, and discuss historical changes as well as more recent trends in harvest, production, and sales. To convey the severe market and economic conditions that existed in 2008, 2009, and 2010, we also provide updated information on the industry and its inputs and outputs through 2010.

Forest managers need to know how much timber residue remains on site after a logging operation to predict feedstock potential for woody biomass energy uses and to gauge the efficiency of their operations. Logging utilization studies quantify the amount of growing stock volume cut and either delivered to the mill or left in the forest as logging residue at the state level. However, managers lack site-specific residue information that could be used to inform their prescription efforts. The authors used logging utilization data to develop predictive models that provide the residue information needs of land managers.

This individual report for the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests: 1. Examines the harvest of timber from the counties containing non-reserved timberland for the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests; 2. Analyzes the flow of that timber harvest and identifies the location of mills receiving that timber harvest; and 3. Describes the kinds of mills receiving timber, their capacity to process timber, as well as their capability to use timber of various sizes.

This individual report for the Kootenai National Forest: 1. Examines the harvest of timber from the counties containing non-reserved timberland for the Kootenai National Forest; 2. Analyzes the flow of that timber harvest and identifies the location of mills receiving that timber harvest; and 3. Describes the kinds of mills receiving timber, their capacity to process timber, as well as their capability to use timber of various sizes.

This individual report for the Idaho Panhandle National Forest (IPNF): 1. Examines the harvest of timber from the counties containing non-reserved timberland for the IPNF; 2. Analyzes the flow of that timber harvest and identifies the location of mills receiving that timber harvest; and 3. Describes the kinds of mills receiving timber, their capacity to process timber, as well as their capability to use timber of various sizes.

This individual report for the Lolo National Forest: 1. Examines the harvest of timber from the counties containing non-reserved timberland for the Lolo National Forest; 2. Analyzes the flow of that timber harvest and identifies the location of mills receiving that timber harvest; and 3. Describes the kind of mills, their capacity to process timber, as well as their capability to use timber of various sizes.

This individual report for the Flathead National Forest: 1. Examines the harvest of timber from the counties containing non-reserved timberland for the Flathead National Forest; 2. Analyzes the flow of that timber harvest and identifies the location of mills receiving that timber harvest; and 3. Describes the kinds of mills receiving timber, their capacity to process timber, as well as their capability to use timber of various sizes.

This report traces the flow of California's 2006 timber harvest through the primary wood products industry (i.e., firms that process timber into manufactured products such as lumber, as well as facilities such as pulp mills and particleboard plants, which use the wood fiber or mill residue directly from timber processors) and provides a description of the structure, condition, and economic impacts of California's forest products industry. Historical wood products industry changes are discussed, as well as trends in harvest, production, mill residue, and sales. Also examined are employment and worker earnings in the state's primary and secondary forest products industry.

Logging utilization studies yield bole volumes of commercially harvested trees delivered to the mill versus bole volumes left in the forest as logging residue. When combined with data from other sources, these volumes can be used to estimate total tree (bole residues, tops and limbs) residue biomass.

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at The University of Montana conducted a statewide study of logging utilization in Idaho during 2008 and 2011. This study provides information to help resource managers and the general public estimate and better understand impacts of logging on timber inventory in Idaho.

Forest managers are constantly faced with the need to reliably estimate harvest costs. Because of the inherently variable conditions under which logging occurs, estimating costs inexpensively is challenging. Yet costs estimates for timber harvest are especially important as new treatments aimed at ecosystem restoration are developed. The Bureau conducts surveys on logging and hauling costs during alternate years to help managers develop cost estimates for various scenarios.

Reports operating conditions, sales, production, and employment for Montana's forest products industry for 2011. Includes an outlook for 2012.

This report traces the flow of Idaho's 2006 timber harvest through the primary wood-using industries; describes the structure, capacity, and condition of Idaho's primary forest products industry; and quantifies volumes and uses of wood fiber. Wood products industry historical trends and changes in harvest, production, employment, and sales are also examined.

Highlights operating conditions, sales, employment, production, and the timber harvest trend for Idaho's forest products industry in 2011. Includes a outlook for 2012.

The first decade of the 21st century offered polar opposites in terms of market conditions for Montana's forest products industry. Of the major industries in Montana, none was impacted more by the recession than the forest products industry.

This poster gives a brief look at how the Western Forest Products Industry was affected by the recession and how it is coming out of it.

The dreadful economic conditions experienced by the country's forest products industry in 2009 improved somewhat during 2010.

Reports the operating conditions, sales, employment, and production for Idaho's forest products industry during 2010. The outlook for 2011 is included.

Forest managers are constantly faced with the need to reliably estimate harvest costs. Because of the inherently variable conditions under which logging occurs, estimating costs inexpensively is challenging. Yet costs estimates for timber harvest are especially important as new treatments aimed at ecosystem restoration are developed. The Bureau conducts surveys on logging and hauling costs during alternate years to help managers develop cost estimates for various scenarios.

Reports the operating conditions, sales, employment, and production for Idaho's forest products industry during 2009. The outlook for 2010 is included.

Economic conditions for Montana's forest products industry went from very bad in 2008 to dreadful in 2009. Lumber consumption in the United States was at its lowest level since the current statistical series began in 1950. Annual U.S. housing starts, which reached 2.1 million in 2005, fell to less than 1 million in 2008. In 2009, housing starts fell to just over 550,000 units, their lowest level in more than six decades. In response to the ongoing declines in housing, lumber prices dropped nearly 50 percent from 2005 to 2009.

The Joint Fire Sciences Program funded a study to enhance the ability of federal land managers to address the economic and financial aspects of woody biomass removal as a component of fire hazard reduction treatments.

Addresses the short-term and long-term impacts that the closure of the Smurfit-Stone facility in Frenchtown will have on the Missoula-area economy.

With the closure of Smurfit-Stone Container in Frenchtown and the dismal economic conditions in Montana's forest products industry, developing a biomass energy industry is becoming increasingly important for the state's forests and forest-dependent communities and industry.

The closure of Smurfit-Stone will have significant impacts on the Missoula and statewide economies. The BBER estimates that the Frenchtown facility's shutting down will put additional stress on local and state governments dealing with tax declines, lead to significant additional job losses in various industries, and will produce measurable impacts on Missoula's population as mill employees and others are forced to leave the area in search of jobs.

Montana's forest products industry saw increases in employment, wages and production during the second quarter of 2009. This is good news, but not a sign of industry recovery.

This report traces the flow of Wyoming's 2005 timber harvest through the primary timber-processing industry to the wholesale market and residue-using sectors. The structure, capacity, operations, and conditions of Wyoming's primary forest products industry are described; and volumes and uses of wood fiber are quantified. Historical and recent changes in Wyoming's forest products industry, including harvest, production, and sales are also discussed.

As Montana celebrates the 100th anniversary of state forestry, mills continue to close, production is at a fraction of historic levels, and the prospects for the state's wood products industry are dimmer than ever before. Controversies over timber, endangered species, fire, wilderness, public participation, and water have characterized the lack of management of the national forests for the past 20 years. Talk of a new approach for managing national forests is circulating. What's ahead for Montana's forests?

During 2008, Montana's forest products industry was negatively impacted not only by a third weak year in the U.S. housing industry but by the deepening financial crisis. Most of Montana's forest products industry executives are pessimistic about 2009. Whether or not the industry can once again thrive depends on two key factors: its ability to ride out the current situation and, when market conditions eventually improve, the state's local timber availability.

Reports the operating conditions, sales, employment, and production for Idaho's forest products industry during 2008. The outlook for 2009 is included.

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana-Missoula is conducting a logging utilization study to characterize Idaho's timber harvest. This study will conclude in 2009.

Management of public lands occurs today with high levels of scrutiny and controversy. To succeed, managers seek the support, involvement, and endorsement of the public. This study examines trust as an indicator of managerial success and attempts to identify and measure the components that most influence it. A review of trust literature yielded 14 attributes that were hypothesized to contribute to trust, grouped into the three dimensions of Shared Norms and Values, Willingness to Endorse, and Perceived Efficacy. Operationalizing these attributes and dimensions, a telephone survey was administered to a sample of Montana, USA, residents living adjacent to the Bitterroot National Forest (n = 1,152). Each of the attributes was measured in the context of federal lands fire and fuel management. Structural equation modeling showed that all 14 attributes were found to be influential contributors to levels of trust. Results suggest that if managers are to maintain or increase levels of public trust, they need to consider each of trust's attributes as they make social, ecological, and economic resource decisions.

For the past 30 years, Chuck Keegan has followed the timber iindustry's struggles and triumphs as an economist with the Bureau of Business and Economic Research. In that time, he has watched the region's forest products industry fulfill his predictions and reinvent itself in improbable ways. Now it's time to retire, leaving his position as the bureau's director of forest industry and manufacturing research.

A second weak year in the U.S. housing industry continued to negatively impact Montana's wood products industry during 2007. Weak markets and mill curtailments are expected into 2009, with housing starts for 2008 expected to be lower than 2007 levels.

Reports the operating conditions, sales, employment, and production for Idaho's forest products industry during 2007. The outlook for 2008 is included.

Average lumber prices fell by over 20 percent in 2006 relative to 2005. Lower prices coupled with continued constraints on timber harvest caused a decline in sales, production, and employment in Montana's forest products industry. No dramatic improvements are expected in 2007.

An in depth look at Utah's forest products industry in 1992.