Since the 19^th century, Oregon has relied on the timber industry to drive its economies. It started with the California Gold Rush’s demand for timber to build railroads and has grown to a multi-billion-dollar industry.

In the late 19^th century, sawmills along the lower Columbia River were exporting 75 to 100 million board feet of lumber per year, depleting the Midwestern forests. Because of this, interest shifted to harvesting pine and fir.

Timber harvesting grew and grew until World War II, when timber harvesting really took off. Coos Bay was called the “Lumber Capital of the World” and the population grew 30 percent in the 1940s and 50s.

More than 2,000 logging operations were in action at that time, with the state increasing its cut from 5.2 billion board feet to 9.1 billion in 15 years.

This, however, led to land managers depleting forests. Federal laws were implemented in the 1960s and 70s to conserve the remaining forests.

By the early 1980s, a recession greatly affected timber-dependent communities. High interest rates slowed down housing construction, Canadian lumber became highly competitive, and a demand for timber from Asia caused American companies to export their timber than mill domestically.

Thus, many mills closed down and those that remained open needed new technology. This technology reduced the number of employees necessary to run the mill.

The price of lumber dropped by nearly 50 percent and four of the five counties with the highest unemployment rates were timber-dependent counties, including Coos and Curry. During the recession, 48,000 jobs were lost.

The recession caused Oregon to diversify in its industries and manage its land more sustainably. Now, Oregon harvests around 4 billion board feet of timber, but the industry has slowed down to allow for old growth.

The wages of timber workers aren’t as high as they were in the 1940s, but jobs and wages have held steady and are projected to stay this way.

Sources:

https://oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine/here-spring-2012/the-state-that-timber-built/

https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/timber_industry/#.W2H7jNhKiCQ

Oregon’s Timber History, An Update

Jean C Fisheries was established in 1950 and is currently run by Kevin Bennett, who bought the Jean C after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ed Chevalier built the boat, named after his wife, and fished out of Washington and Alaska for over 65 years until Kevin bought it.

Kevin has been operating Jean C Fisheries since April 2014. He fishes for ling cod, salmon, and tuna. His start/stop dates, limits, and restrictions are governed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the federal government. It’s a one-man operation and Kevin will go out to fish for up to five days at a time on the ocean. His boat is equipped to have multiple fishing lines out at a time and accommodates his living needs while he’s gone for multiple days.

Kevin says that “it’s fishing,” so he never knows exactly how many fish he will bring in after a trip. When I met him, he was unloading 96 tuna fish from his boat. He can catch up to 4,000 pounds at a time.

When asked about how he sells his freshly caught fish Kevin says, “I have a limited seller permit that allows dockside sales to the ultimate consumer whole fish sales.” His tuna is either sold from the boat or to a plant; salmon is almost always to the Pacific Sea food plant; ling cod to local fish shops or dockside sales.”

In 2012, Dave Lacy founded South Coast Tours, a business that provides a variety of guided tours in several areas along the south coast. SCT offers several types of guided experiences including kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, kayak fishing, and van tours. Along with his team of five other guides, Dave works hard to ensure the safety of his clients and to make sure they walk away smiling, having had a wonderful time on the tour.

When asked why people should choose to take guided tours instead of venturing off into the ocean alone, Dave referenced our specific tour saying, “There’s a lot to learn from somebody who has done it before, so you can show them some of those sea caves you might not notice, or the arch. If you didn’t know the arch was there, you might miss it. There’s that inside knowledge, plus [weather and ocean] conditions.” When asked about the highlight of his job, Dave added, “The best part is hearing you guys laugh and just the stoke you hear out there.”

To experience what it was like to take a guided kayak tour, Dave kindly invited me and my two coworkers to accompany him with three other clients on his Port Orford Ocean Wildlife Viewing Kayak Tour. As part of tour, Dave provided wetsuits, booties, and kayaks to each client. He discussed water safety and explained the basics of kayaking before we launched from the beaches of Port Orford. We paddled through Graveyard Point, Tichenor Cove, Nellies Cove, and through Hell’s Gate and back to the port.

Along the way, Dave was able to point out local seabirds which included brown pelicans, pigeon guillemots, cormorants, black oystercatchers, and common murres, as well as different types of kelp, how to eat them, and their importance to wildlife. We continued into a cove, where we found a group of 20+ harbor seals, many of them young pups. Dave explained how we should keep our distance and make sure we move slowly so that the seals do not get nervous and hurt themselves sliding off of a rock. We paddled around them and even had some come visit our kayaks!

We continued and saw caves and arches, but the water was too rough for us to paddle through; we were able to go through the arch on the way back though. We kept paddling, with Dave pointing out wildlife such as barnacles, mussels, sea stars, and lion’s mane jellyfish. The highlight of our trip was on the return, where Dave spotted a whale’s spout in the port. We slowed down, and it was headed our direction! We took about a half an hour to watch the whale, as it emerged and dove back down right around our kayaks. Dave explained to us that this whale was likely part of the resident pod and feeding on the kelp beds below us. It was the highlight of my week! Dave even had a camera to take photos of us and videos of the wildlife to send to us.

Taking a tour with Dave was a great way to better understand the need for helpful, well-trained guides. During our interview, Dave said that he is always making sure that we are having a great time but is constantly thinking about our safety. He provided high quality equipment, ensured we were comfortable and confident, and was able to identify and teach us all about the local marine wildlife. Without a guide, we would not have had the same experience, especially as people new to the area. South Coast Tours offers wonderful guided experiences that practice sustainable tourism while ensuring happiness and safety to all participants.