It's all about too much regulation. The price of lumber would be in the cellar if we had a proper policy re: logging to maintain fire safety in our forests. In each case the price is high mostly due to excessive regulation, environmental in most cases.
My first engineering job out of college was staking out lumber roads in the California redwoods. That state has both the most wondrous trees and the most astounding environmentalists. It's ironic but true: mindless nature-lovers end up bringing about mass extinction just as sure as mindless pacifism causes war.