In This Issue: DNR updates forestry BMP

Timber cruising procedures

Market outlook

Training opportunities

Forest

Bi-annual Newsletter

Utilization & Marketing

June 13, 2017

MI forestry BMP guide updatesThe Sustainable Soil and Water Quality Practices on Forest Land, also known as the Michigan forestry BMP guide, is being updated. A first draft of the document is available for your review. Please distribute this information to the key persons in your organizations who have interest and provide suggested edits back to Amy Lounds, (loundsa@michigan.gov), and David Price (priced1@michigan.gov) by June 30. The new BMP guide will be used for the 2018 Sustainable Forestry Education training.

Salvage sales in northeast Iron CountyFollowing a severe storm that moved through the western Upper Peninsula in early April, DNR forestry field staff has been cleaning up 699 acres of state forest land. Downed timber made three public state forest roads impassable. Deer Foot Lodge Road, Camp One Road and Fence River Road were cleared and opened thanks to quick assessment and sale preparation by field staff and a local logging firm that took on the salvage work as a scale volume sale. Forestry staff will have two large salvage sales available for bid in June with two more shortly thereafter. The first two sales consist of 300 acres of aspen and 120 acres of northern hardwoods. Contact the Crystal Falls DNR office for further details at 906-875-6622.

DNR to update timber cruising procedureAfter a great deal of work by an internal team, the DNR's Forest Resources Division (FRD) has decided to update its timber cruising procedures. The current methods and volume models have been in place for at least 40 years. Improvements in methodology and technology during that time have led the Division to review and evaluate better ways to measure trees and calculate volumes. FRD will be adopting a variable radius plot sub-sampling (VRSS) protocol that utilizes taper models to determine volumes of measured trees and allows for sub-sampling of diameters and heights. The team is now in the process working out the details of the new cruising procedures and select-ing software that will integrate into current technology and operating systems. A new quality control process will be developed and implemented as well. You won’t see any changes in the near future, but the new process will be in place by October 2018. FRD will keep you updated as the project progresses. Questions regarding the changes, staff training and the timeline of implementation can be directed to Doug Heym, Division Timber Sale Specialist, heymd@michigan.gov, 517-284-5867.

Michigan DNR, Forest Products Society to host marketing workshopThe Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Forest Products Society – Great Lakes Chapter will host two workshops on marketing practices for the forest products industry in Grand Rapids and Gaylord on August 24 and 25, respectively. Marketing has been called the backbone of successful forest products com-panies, yet many manufacturers struggle with marketing concepts. Participants will learn about marketing as it relates to forest products and how to gain a com-petitive advantage in the industry. The workshop is designed for business owners, managers and marketing personnel. The Grand Rapids workshop will be tailored for cabinet and millwork shops; the Gaylord session for sawmills. Contact Dave Neumann at neu-mannd@michigan.gov or (517) 284-5887 or visit www.michigan.gov/forestproducts for more information.

Industry events:

June 19 - 22Intro to Hardwood Lumber Grading www.nhla.comGrayling, MI

July 11Mass Timber and Mid-Rise Constructionwww.woodworks.orgAnn Arbor, MI

July 21 - 22Forest Stewards Guild Lake States Meetingwww.forestguild.orgWoodruff, WI

July 25 Mass Timber Workshopwww.mifbi.orgGrand Rapids, MI

Aug. 7 - 10Kiln Drying Courselsla.comAntigo, WI

Aug. 24 - 25Marketing Practices for Forest Products Industrywww.michigan.gov/forest-productsGrand Rapids, MIGrayling, MI *Full details available on page one of this newsletter.

Sept. 7 - 9Great Lakes Logging Expowww.gltpa.orgEscanaba, MI

Michigan Market Updates and Projections• Pulpwood – Most mill yards are full and happy with their inventories. Mar-

ket demand for paper products is fair, and good for engineered board prod-ucts, but because most are sitting on comfortable roundwood inventories, there is likely to be continued downward pressure on pulp prices. There is potential for some improvement if the housing market ticks upward this summer and fall.

• Sawtimber – Demand has been good for upper-grade lumber. Mills report having little difficulty moving upper grades, but more trouble with lower grades. Lumber prices remain down for hard maple. Soft maple and red oak prices are good.

• Industrial lumber - Markets are oversupplied. Mills report having difficulty moving lower-grade material.

• Crosstie - Markets appear to be softening. Tie buyers in the region expect to make fewer purchases this season and are actively trying to discourage production by offering lower prices. Demand for ties has softened in part due to lower shipments of coal and oil by rail, expiration of a key railroad infrastructure tax credit at the end of 2016 and reduced transportation of other commodities by rail.

• Pallet cut stock and cants - Markets are very competitive right now, in part due to the large volume of industrial lumber on the market and pressure from Canadian softwood competition.

• Residues - Mills report significant difficulty moving residues – bark, chips and sawdust – in part due to Verso's change in pulpwood blend last spring (reducing their consumption of softwood), reduced demand by energy generation facilities due to the low price of natural gas, and reduced de-mand by pellet manufacturers due to two successive mild winters that have left pellet producers with high inventories. Some mills say they’ve been cut off by their normal mulch outlets as well. Because of the large amount of mill residue that manufacturers are trying to move, it will likely continue to be difficult to move harvest residues this summer and fall.

State Road Inventory Update Per PA 288, all state forest roads must be inventoried and mapped in the north-ern Lower Peninsula (NLP) by December 31, 2017 and the Upper Peninsula and southern Lower Peninsula by December 31, 2018. The act provides for opening state forest roads in the NLP for ORV use.

Maps of forest roads will be posted annually for the public. DNR will evaluate whether timber harvest activities offer the opportunity to connect existing roads and trails. Local governments will receive notification of new restrictions placed on forest roads or trails accessing public land. The law also provides for cross country retrieval of certain big game species using ORVs and horses.

Information and details can be found at www.michigan.gov/forestroads and comment can be emailed to: DNR-RoadInventoryProject@michigan.gov.Public meetings for comment on all NLP state forest road changes have been scheduled and are as follows:

• Monday, June 19, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Quality Inn, 2980 Cook Rd., West Branch

• Tuesday, June 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center, 6087 M-115, Cadillac

• Wednesday, June 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jay’s Sporting Goods, 1151 S. Otsego Ave., Gaylord

Sept. 12 - 15"Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation of Wood Symposium"Forest Products Society forestprod.org/symposiumMadison, WI

Oct. 5 - 6"Forests for Fish"Michigan Society of American Foresters conferencemichigansaf.orgGrayling, MI

Oct. 18"Promotion of Woodwork Standards Through Educa-tion and Community"Architectural Woodwork Association - Great Lakes Chapterwww.awigreatlakes.orgLocation TBA

Oct. 25 - 2711th International Confer-ence on Wood Adhesivesforestprod.org/woodadhe-sivesAtlanta, GA

Nov. 15 - 19"The Future of Forestry: Meeting Diverse Needs in a Changing World"Society of American Foresters www.eforester.org

Good Neighbor Authority UpdateThe DNR expects an approximate 36 percent increase in acres prepared for 2017 GNA timber sales as compared to 2016. Currently, 966 acres are planned on the Huron Manistee National Forest, 806 acres on the Ottawa National Forest and 39 acres on the Hiawatha National Forest. The DNR is working with each national forest to identify 2018 GNA projects by the end of the current fiscal year.

SmartLam first U.S. CLT manufacturer to earn SFI Chain Of Custody CertificationThe Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) announced in early May that SmartLam, LLC, is the first U.S. manufacturer of cross-laminated timber (CLT) to be certified under the SFI 2015-2019 Chain-of-Custody Standard. Based in northwest Montana, SmartLam is also the first manufacturer to produce CLT in the U.S. SmartLam manufactures CLT for a variety of applications, including floor, roof and wall systems. SFI's Chain-of-Custody Standard helps companies address the growing demand from governments, customers and consumers for responsibly sourced forest products.

Portable bridges, crane mats and interlocking mats availableThe Michigan DNR has several resources available to assist in accessing state timber sales that involve a stream crossing or wetland areas. These resources include portable bridges, traditional tie crane mats and composite interlocking mats. The DNR is purchasing more bridges and mats to meet growing needs throughout the state. With the use of these resources, sustainable timber man-agement can occur on otherwise inaccessible lands. If you have a state timber sale where access can be improved by use of a portable bridge or mats, work with your local timber sale administrator or contact Chad Fate in the Lower Peninsula at fatec@michigan.gov or Jen Burnham in the Upper Peninsula at burnhamj@michigan.gov to check availability and schedule installation.

Arauco UpdateArauco in Grayling, Michigan is expected to start purchasing raw material in fall of 2017 for their new particle board plant currently under construction; 70 percent of their raw material will likely come from pulpwood – about 700,000 cords per year. It's not clear how much hardwood pulp they will take. It is likely that at least 60 to 70 percent of their roundwood will be softwood species. As much as 40 percent of their raw material may come from mill residues, according to their procurement manager. This may relieve some of the strain on residue markets, and free up an outlet for harvest residues in 2018.

Grant OpportunitiesMichigan Invasive Species Grant Program, up to$3.6 million available to applicants. See www.michigan.gov/dnr-grants for more information.

USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant Open for Applications. See the U.S. Department of Agriculture website for more information.

For more information regarding the DNR’s Forest Utili-zation and Marketing Program, please contact Brenda Haskill at haskillb@michigan.gov or David Neumann at neumannd@michigan.gov.

Management Unit Total estimated sale acres

Baraga 2,897

Crystal Falls 5,566Gwinn 3,074

Escanaba 3,089West U.P. Total 14,626

Shingleton 4,959Newberry 3,789

Sault Ste. Marie 3,060East U.P. Total 11,807

U.P. Total 26,433Gaylord 7,128

Pigeon River 1,184Atlanta 4,634

Grayling 4,896East L.P. Total 17,842Traverse City 8,324

Cadillac 2,826Roscommon 3,110

Gladwin 2,688West L.P. Total 16,948

L.P. Total 34,790State Total 61,224

Acres of timber sales on state forest lands in 2017