Marketing Recommendations For Wood Products From Alaska Birch Red Alder And Alaska Yellow Cedar

Download or read book Marketing Recommendations for Wood Products from Alaska Birch, Red Alder, and Alaska Yellow-cedar written by Geoffrey H. Donovan and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Several factors have contributed to a recent decline in Alaska's wood products industry, including reduced exports to Japan and the closure of two pulp mills in southeast Alaska. However, higher value niche markets are a potential growth area for the industry. In this paper, we consider niche markets for three species that have historically been harvested in low volumes--Alaska birch (Betula papyrifera var. humilis (Reg.) Fern. & Raup), red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.), and Alaska yellowcedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (D. Don) Spach). The extent of the resource, current utilization, and an overview of recent research efforts are examined. Specific marketing recommendations are then provided for each species, based on these evaluations. Wide-ranging opportunities for a variety of primary and secondary wood products exist that utilize character-marked lumber, lower grades of lumber, and material from standing-dead sources. This report concludes with a framework for future research, identifying key opportunities to differentiate Alaska wood products in the marketplace.