Court ruling increase availability of logs from national forests

A favorable court ruling and signs of economic recovery have prompted timber giant Sierra Pacific Industries to partially reopen its small-log mill in Quincy, Calif.

SPI closed the mill last year, laying off 150 workers, blaming the recession and lawsuits that stymied a forest management plan in Northeastern California that was crafted in negotiations with local environmentalists.

But a state court decision in November has brought a moderate increase in the availability of small logs from the region's national forests. Eastern District of California Court Judge Morrison C. England ruled against environmentalists who had sued to block many of the U.S. Forest Service's timber sales in the area, said Mark Pawlicki, SPI's director of government affairs.

Environmental groups are appealing the decision. But in the meantime, the ruling -- as well as recent improvements in the lumber market -- will allow the Anderson, Calif.-based company to reopen the small-log facility, a news release stated.

To accommodate the reopening, work at a large-log mill at the same site will be reduced from two shifts to one. The changes, which will take effect in May, will leave about 243 employees at the Quincy plant, which also includes a biomass-fueled power plant.

The small-log mill was built to handle harvests from the Quincy Library Group management plan in three national forests, but the pact had achieved only about 20 percent of its volume goals as of last year.

The small mill was one of three that Sierra Pacific closed last year. Sawmills in Sonora and Camino were also shuttered, as well as a biomass-fueled power plant in Sonora. The closures cost 310 workers their jobs.

-- Tim Hearden