Timber Harvest

Coming back from the worst year on record, Oregon's 2010 timber harvest increased 17 percent to to 3.2 billion board feet.

A spike in lumber prices and increased exports to China drove up the demand and price for logs, which in turn caused the increased harvest total, according to an Oregon Department of Forestry news release.

Oregon loggers cut 2.7 billion board feet in 2009, a record low. A board foot is a slab of wood 12 inches square and one inch thick.

The increased cut in 2010 came primarily from private timberland. Large corporate owners provided 2.2 billion board feet, or 68 percent of the harvest. Smaller family forest owners increased their harvest by 145 percent to a total of 228 million board feet.

The timber harvest on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service -- which has the largest timber holdings in Oregon -- increased by 32 percent, to 254 million board feet.

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