Decorative Veneers and Plywoods from the Pacific West

Hardwoods in the Pacific Northwest are potentially valuable sources of decorative furniture veneers. Accurate estimates of volumes available, economical logging opportunities, and particularly market development are needed to utilize this resource. Current furniture trends emphasis the eye appeal of wood, with uncluttered designs and interest in knots, burls, and natural character markings. There is a demand for bigleaf maple and for maple burls and quilted and fiddleback maple. The maple resource in Washington, Oregon and northern California totals 2 to 3 billion board feet. Only 1 tree in 200 has the burl or fiddle figure, though curly and quilted maple are somewhat more frequent; bark or growth characteristics of a tree may indicate a valuable figure, but value cannot be estimated until the tree is cut to reveal the extent of the figure. Maples without figure are readily marketed as an alternative to eastern hard maple, with the lower grades among the top hardwood species for pallets. A market trend toward red-toned woods such as cherry and mahogany may encourage a market for madrone and redwood burls. Millions of feet of fine veneer are potentially recoverable from the 500 tons of burl and figured maple, redwood, and, myrtle which could be harvested annually from the Pacific slope. About 250 million board feet of western alder are harvested annually, with the market expanding. Alder totals over 22 billion board feet of saw logs within 100 miles of the coast in Washington, Oregon, and northern California. It is estimated that there are more than 1 billion board feet of burbank hybrid and claro walnut from the inland valleys of California to the Pacific slope; though some walnut is in urban areas, much should be harvested. In addition to the primary supplies of maple, redwood, alder, and walnut, secondary sources of figured woods for which markets could be found include laurel, madrone, chinkapin oak, and Oregon myrtle. Including knotty veneers–pine and alder are now being used–expands potential resources even further. Pecan and hickory, once left in the woods, are now established furniture woods. One area with great apparent economic potential is the Hoopa Valley, Humboldt County, California.

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