The reason the "Bigs" maintain a high wholesale price is because your and my USFS has NOT offered the timber sales like they did prior to 1990. The result is it forced the Small lumber mills out because they used to rely on public timber for their raw product. The reason the USFS hasnt offered over 12 billion BD FT like they used to is because of evironMENTAL law suits which forced them to quit offering these sales-cost to much to fight those suits you see.
One other thing. The USFS (as well as state agencies)have been virtually taken over by tree huggers withing the bottom ranks, I.E. district managers etc. If they cant stop us from logging it, they'll regulate it to death..and they are!
The "bigs" can also maintain a high price because we now import a VERY large part of our construction lumber. Just go to your local building center and look at all that beetle killed (blue stained)spruce coming from CanFor as well as Russia. Blue Stain is the first step in Rot.
Answer? Get the local counties to file suit and take away the area federal timber lands and place them into county control. I. E. is Marinette Co Wisconsin. Last year this county took in more than 2 million in timber sale revenue and nearly 60% of that money went into the local school districts. In the USFS program only 25% is to go to local school systems. But when they dont sell timber, nothing goes into the school coffers. The result is our kids and education system suffers from lack of revenue. But what the hey..its better to pass more property taxes isnt it? SARC.
Thanks.
Letting small family operations manage small parcels of public lands for economic, social, and envirnomental needs would be wonderful. Reviewed by a forester and not by a judge.
Because it make alot of logic sense, it will never happen.