Background

As part of an ongoing series of hardwood resource assessments in western Washington, the University of Washington’s Institute of Forest Resources (IFR) just released the latest assessment. Drawing from the Washington State Biomass Assessment database, this study estimated the volume of hardwoods by management zone, owner group, diameter class and species as of 2010, with projections through 2030.

Hardwood tree species grown in the Pacific Northwest comprise an important economic component of the timber resources for the forest products industry in western Washington. In recent years, hardwood consumption by mills has amounted to more than 5 percent of the total log volume consumed in the state. As landowners continue to convert hardwoods into forest products, there is great potential to expand this economic contribution. Increased demand and outlets for the timber harvest, in turn, can increase financial returns for forest landowners and operators—and these economic projections depend on an up-to-date hardwood inventory.

Deliverables

To learn more about the hardwood inventory and the report’s findings, the 2013 assessment is now available for download (PDF), along with the accompanying Report Tables and an Extended Executive Summary. This report was made possible by the generous support of the Washington Hardwoods Commission and the McIntire-Stennis federal cooperative forestry research program.

Photo credits: Alicia McMurchie