Harvesting economics and wood fiber utilization in a fuels reduction project: a case study in eastern Oregon

A single-grip harvester and a small skyline system were combined to salvage log and thin a 40-acre (16.2-ha) site on flat terrain in eastern Oregon. The objectives were to reduce fuel loading, improve growing conditions for trees, and minimize soil impacts from logging. A total of 403 thousand board feet (MBF) (813 cunits, or 2301 m 3 ) of small sawlogs and pulpwood were harvested, 14 percent of which came from dead and standing material; 44 percent from dead and down material; and 42 percent from live material. Live stems with a minimum diameter of 5 inches (12.7 cm) were utilized as sawlogs; all other material was utilized for pulpwood. Of the total volume, 29 percent was sawlogs and 71 percent was pulpwood. Sawlogs were profitable to log based on their value of $515/MBF, whereas pulpwood was logged at a loss based on its value of $36/ton in log form. Sawlog revenues compensated for pulpwood losses, resulting in a profit of $611/acre ($1,505/ha) from revenues of $2,581/acre ($6,374/ha) and costs of $1,970/acre ($4,869/ha).