FORESTRY ROUNDUP: Swanson Group Manufacturing plans to rebuild and upgrade a mill that was flattened by a fire in 2014.
BY JACOB PALMER | OB DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Swanson Group Manufacturing plans to rebuild and upgrade a mill that was flattened by a fire in 2014.
The Register Guard reported local politicians celebrated the announcement.
“Wood products and logging have just been a foundation of the community in Springfield,” [Springfield mayor Chrstine Lundberg] said. “They are still such a big part of who we are. We didn’t want to lose one that has been here and has contributed to the community.”
The family-owned company based in Southern Oregon said it will start construction of the upgraded mill this summer, and plans to hire back as many of its displaced workers as it can.
Foresting done about 25 miles north of Springfield will be the subject of a lawsuit as environmental groups seek to stop Seneca Sawmill Co. from clear cutting federal land.
The project is a step toward the old days of large-scale clear-cuts on public land, said Nick Cady, legal director for Cascadia Wildlands. “This time they are only leaving two trees per acre. It’s going to look like private land clear-cutting in Oregon,” he said.
Environmental nonprofit organizations Cascadia Wildland and Oregon Wild, with 22,000 members between them, are seeking an injunction from a federal judge in Eugene.
Read more at the Register Guard.
In a final bit of timber news, the federal government is warning governors to expect less subsidy money after Congress failed to include the Secure Rural Schools bill in must-pass legislation.
From the Associated Press:
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday that the U.S. Forest Service is sending more than $50 million to 746 timber counties in February, with Oregon and other Western states the biggest recipients. That compares with about $300 million paid out last fiscal year under the Secure Rural Schools subsidy program.
