Interfor-Gilchrist touts Deschutes Forest work, jobs
International Forest Products Limited, known as Interfor, said Monday its two stewardship partnerships with the Deschutes National Forest will yield 25.8 million board feet of timber to support jobs in Central Oregon and generate about $3.3 million in revenue, contributing to future restoration projects.
“This is a win-win for our Central Oregon communities and the Deschutes National Forest,” said Chuck Burley, Interfor’s timber procurement manager in Gilchrist. “Together, these partnerships will support 450 direct and indirect jobs, and generate revenue for local restoration activities.”
Interfor’s Gilchrist Division was recently awarded the Fine Integrated Resource Timber Contract, the third of three projects offered to complete a research project led by the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station.
The Fine IRTC will result in 13 million board feet of timber and $1.5 million in retained receipts. IRTCs are a means to pay for stewardship work through the sale of commercial forest products.
In 2012, Interfor was awarded the Bind IRTC to harvest timber on Lookout Mountain in the Deschutes National Forest’s Pringle Falls Experimental Forest. The company also built fire line and removed the brush remaining after harvest to support the research project.
That project yielded 12.8 million board feet and generated $1.8 million in retained receipts.
“These partnerships show how forests and communities can benefit when everyone works together,” said Burley. “This timber supports Interfor’s investments, advancing our plans to increase production and product offerings from our Gilchrist sawmill.”
The Deschutes National Forest was established in 1908, and Gilchrist was founded as a company town in 1938 by the family-owned Gilchrist Timber Company.
Interfor purchased the mill in 2004, and it currently employs 137 people, producing a line of high-quality pine specialty lumber products.
The mill has been recognized by the Forest Service and environmental organizations as a critical component of infrastructure supporting forest restoration activities in the Deschutes, Fremont-Winema, and other national forests in Central Oregon.
ABOUT INTERFOR
Interfor is a leading global lumber supplier, with annual capacity of more than 2 billion board feet, and one of the most diverse lines of lumber products in the world. The Company has operations across North America and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. For more information about Interfor, visit our website at www.interfor.com .
