If you're shopping for building materials for your home, you've probably heard people
raving about €tight-grained€ Douglas fir. That's because the lumber from tight, vertical-
grain Douglas fir is among the best building materials you'll find anywhere. If you've
done your research, you probably know that tight-grained Douglas fir is durable,
attractive and high-quality. But you may not know that there's a story behind the
production of those tight-grained Douglas fir logs.
For the last few decades, this type of Douglas fir has mainly been imported from British
Columbia, Canada. This begs the question: Why is it that our northern neighbor is
producing large, high-quality timber, while the Douglas fir from Oregon and Washington
is mostly smaller, with fewer growth rings per inch?
To make sense of that, you first have to understand how the forests in those two
different countries developed over time.
A Tale of Two Forests: Pacific Northwest Boom
Frequent Fire Threats
Think back 200 years ago and picture a Douglas fir sapling. If this baby tree grew in
Oregon or Washington, it found a home that was fertile and provided good habitat for
growth; however, it was not the safest location for a young tree.
Even before the arrival of European settlers, fire was a frequent occurrence in the
forests of Oregon and Washington€"more so than those of British Columbia. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Pacific Northwest research station conducted a study of the
history of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. According to their work, frequent
low intensity fires were normal for Oregon. €As a result, trees regenerated almost
continuously,€ the authors wrote.
Liquidation of Lumber
Now, consider what's next for this young Douglas fir. If it managed to survive the cycle
of constant regeneration and lived to the turn of the twentieth century, then by the late
1800s and early 1900s, that tree found itself living in a booming state. Eastern settlers
were making homes in the fertile land, and they needed homes. In fact, the Craftsman
bungalows that still line the streets of Portland today were built during this time. What
were these lovely homes built out of? The Northwest's best native building material€"
Douglas fir, of course! It was a time of rapid growth and rapid logging. Those early days
of the Oregon timber industry were described in a study from the Pacific Northwest
Research station as such: €The prevailing harvest practice was simple liquidation.€
At that time, the forests were cut, slash burned, and then left on their own to regenerate
for about 40 or 50 years, perhaps 75 or 80 at the longest. The forests were then logged
and replanted again and again.
However, the logging practices of today are very different than the constant clear-
cutting of the past. Although the management practices are different, the demand for
landowners to get repeated harvests out of their land is not. An article in the Journal of
Forestry describes the race for harvest as such: €The intensively managed plantations
being planted today in the Pacific Northwest are growing at rate on par with intensively
managed conifer plantations being harvested today in other regions of the world, where
the competition has continued to move ahead.€
In today's managed forests, Douglas fir is usually harvested as soon as it
reaches €merchantable diameter€ in the U.S. Merchantable diameter means that the
trees are technically big enough to cut. However, from a biological standpoint, these
trees have not achieved full maturity. According to a Forest Service study on old-growth
Douglas fir, they might even be considered the tree equivalent of teenagers: €Forests
up to about 75 to 100 years old can generally be considered ecologically young in the
Douglas fir region. This is the period of very rapid growth or €adolescence,'€ the study
states.
It turns out that Douglas fir trees actually grow more slowly as they age, and it's in
these phases of slow growth that the trees develop the qualities that high-end lumber
companies like to brag about: tight growth rings. That kind of growth doesn't happen
unless a tree has a chance to grow slowly and steadily. Unfortunately in the U.S., the
younger trees haven't yet matured enough to develop these qualities.
Future Generations Preserved
Now, picture our little Douglas fir sapling in today's forests. It survived both fire and
clear-cuts and is now all grown up. It would be a huge tree by now€"200 years old or
more. If that's the case, this tree is now probably on land that's owned by the federal
government.
Most of the remaining large-diameter trees, the ones that are 100 years old or more, are
on protected land in Oregon and Washington. In many ways, that's a good thing€"good
for the health of the planet and good for future generations. It is not such good news if
you're a representative from a lumber company seeking logs with the highest quality
and tightest growth rings. In the past 20 years, federal timber harvests have shrunk
dramatically. Very few of these trees are harvested in the U.S. anymore. Instead, the
Douglas fir produced domestically is mainly from private timberlands. These forests are
managed with the goal of maximum output, not slow growth and large-diameter trees.
A Tale of Two Forests: North of the Border
That's not the only way for a forest to develop, however. Let's take a look at what
happens when you plant a sapling a little further to the north.
Space to Spread Out
If this hypothetical Douglas fir grew in British Columbia, Canada, it would have had
plenty of room to spread its roots. B.C. is bigger than Oregon, Washington and
California combined, and two-thirds of the province is forested land.
More importantly, the Douglas firs grown in this western-most Canadian province were
rarely disturbed by wildfire. A study on the history of Pacific Northwest forests found that in British Columbia, €fire was rare or absent...in a natural landscape in this area, the small patches of old, young and maturing trees create a nearly continuous old-growth forest with a fine-grained texture.€
Nearly continuous growth is an accurate description of what happened to Douglas firs in
the north. According to the statistics from the Canadian government, 68 percent of the
trees in British Columbia are 160 years old or older, even after decades of harvest.
Biological Growth
Now let's talk about harvest. While we are saying that Canadian Douglas firs have
not been disturbed as much as Oregon and Washington Douglas firs have, this is
not because Canadians don't cut down their trees. The fact is, logging has been, and
continues to be, one of this area's main industries. But there are two key differences:
the sheer size of the province, and the way the forests are managed.
While most U.S. harvestable timber is in private ownership, in British Columbia, 93
percent of the timber is on public lands. These publicly-owned forests are not grown in
the same way that the U.S's industry-focused forests are. What we call plantations--
forests that are planted with a single species, left to grow and then cut again in a few
decades--are extremely rare in Canada. British Columbia does not have any €intensively
managed€ forests that meet the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's
definition of a plantation forest.
Even Weyerhauser, one of the largest timber companies in the world and a ma
raving about €tight-grained€ Douglas fir. That's because the lumber from tight, vertical-
grain Douglas fir is among the best building materials you'll find anywhere. If you've
done your research, you probably know that tight-grained Douglas fir is durable,
attractive and high-quality. But you may not know that there's a story behind the
production of those tight-grained Douglas fir logs.
For the last few decades, this type of Douglas fir has mainly been imported from British
Columbia, Canada. This begs the question: Why is it that our northern neighbor is
producing large, high-quality timber, while the Douglas fir from Oregon and Washington
is mostly smaller, with fewer growth rings per inch?
To make sense of that, you first have to understand how the forests in those two
different countries developed over time.
Frequent Fire Threats
Think back 200 years ago and picture a Douglas fir sapling. If this baby tree grew in
Oregon or Washington, it found a home that was fertile and provided good habitat for
growth; however, it was not the safest location for a young tree.
Even before the arrival of European settlers, fire was a frequent occurrence in the
forests of Oregon and Washington€"more so than those of British Columbia. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Pacific Northwest research station conducted a study of the
history of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. According to their work, frequent
low intensity fires were normal for Oregon. €As a result, trees regenerated almost
continuously,€ the authors wrote.
Liquidation of Lumber
Now, consider what's next for this young Douglas fir. If it managed to survive the cycle
of constant regeneration and lived to the turn of the twentieth century, then by the late
1800s and early 1900s, that tree found itself living in a booming state. Eastern settlers
were making homes in the fertile land, and they needed homes. In fact, the Craftsman
bungalows that still line the streets of Portland today were built during this time. What
were these lovely homes built out of? The Northwest's best native building material€"
Douglas fir, of course! It was a time of rapid growth and rapid logging. Those early days
of the Oregon timber industry were described in a study from the Pacific Northwest
Research station as such: €The prevailing harvest practice was simple liquidation.€
At that time, the forests were cut, slash burned, and then left on their own to regenerate
for about 40 or 50 years, perhaps 75 or 80 at the longest. The forests were then logged
and replanted again and again.
However, the logging practices of today are very different than the constant clear-
cutting of the past. Although the management practices are different, the demand for
landowners to get repeated harvests out of their land is not. An article in the Journal of
Forestry describes the race for harvest as such: €The intensively managed plantations
being planted today in the Pacific Northwest are growing at rate on par with intensively
managed conifer plantations being harvested today in other regions of the world, where
the competition has continued to move ahead.€
In today's managed forests, Douglas fir is usually harvested as soon as it
reaches €merchantable diameter€ in the U.S. Merchantable diameter means that the
trees are technically big enough to cut. However, from a biological standpoint, these
trees have not achieved full maturity. According to a Forest Service study on old-growth
Douglas fir, they might even be considered the tree equivalent of teenagers: €Forests
up to about 75 to 100 years old can generally be considered ecologically young in the
Douglas fir region. This is the period of very rapid growth or €adolescence,'€ the study
states.
It turns out that Douglas fir trees actually grow more slowly as they age, and it's in
these phases of slow growth that the trees develop the qualities that high-end lumber
companies like to brag about: tight growth rings. That kind of growth doesn't happen
unless a tree has a chance to grow slowly and steadily. Unfortunately in the U.S., the
younger trees haven't yet matured enough to develop these qualities.
Future Generations Preserved
Now, picture our little Douglas fir sapling in today's forests. It survived both fire and
clear-cuts and is now all grown up. It would be a huge tree by now€"200 years old or
more. If that's the case, this tree is now probably on land that's owned by the federal
government.
Most of the remaining large-diameter trees, the ones that are 100 years old or more, are
on protected land in Oregon and Washington. In many ways, that's a good thing€"good
for the health of the planet and good for future generations. It is not such good news if
you're a representative from a lumber company seeking logs with the highest quality
and tightest growth rings. In the past 20 years, federal timber harvests have shrunk
dramatically. Very few of these trees are harvested in the U.S. anymore. Instead, the
Douglas fir produced domestically is mainly from private timberlands. These forests are
managed with the goal of maximum output, not slow growth and large-diameter trees.
That's not the only way for a forest to develop, however. Let's take a look at what
happens when you plant a sapling a little further to the north.
Space to Spread Out
If this hypothetical Douglas fir grew in British Columbia, Canada, it would have had
plenty of room to spread its roots. B.C. is bigger than Oregon, Washington and
California combined, and two-thirds of the province is forested land.
More importantly, the Douglas firs grown in this western-most Canadian province were
rarely disturbed by wildfire. A study on the history of Pacific Northwest forests found that in British Columbia, €fire was rare or absent...in a natural landscape in this area, the small patches of old, young and maturing trees create a nearly continuous old-growth forest with a fine-grained texture.€
Nearly continuous growth is an accurate description of what happened to Douglas firs in
the north. According to the statistics from the Canadian government, 68 percent of the
trees in British Columbia are 160 years old or older, even after decades of harvest.
Biological Growth
Now let's talk about harvest. While we are saying that Canadian Douglas firs have
not been disturbed as much as Oregon and Washington Douglas firs have, this is
not because Canadians don't cut down their trees. The fact is, logging has been, and
continues to be, one of this area's main industries. But there are two key differences:
the sheer size of the province, and the way the forests are managed.
While most U.S. harvestable timber is in private ownership, in British Columbia, 93
percent of the timber is on public lands. These publicly-owned forests are not grown in
the same way that the U.S's industry-focused forests are. What we call plantations--
forests that are planted with a single species, left to grow and then cut again in a few
decades--are extremely rare in Canada. British Columbia does not have any €intensively
managed€ forests that meet the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's
definition of a plantation forest.
Even Weyerhauser, one of the largest timber companies in the world and a ma