Hampton Lumber closes sawmill in Banks, blames future on Oregon Habitat Conservation Plan
A sawmill in Banks that closed earlier this year will remain shut down indefinitely due to a lack of available timber, according to its owner, Hampton Lumber.
The mill employed 58 people.
“We are well aware of the detrimental impact a mill closure has on employees, their families, and the surrounding community,” Hampton CEO Randy Schillinger said in a statement. “I want to thank our Banks employees for their professionalism and hard work over the years.”
The company said it would continue operating three other Northwest Oregon sawmills in Willamina, Tillamook and Warrenton, which employ 600 altogether.
Hampton bought the facility in 2016 but said it couldn’t see a future for the mill due to “log supply restrictions.” Schillinger singled out the declining amount of timber it can cut on state forests due to potential adoption of what's known as the Habitat Conservation Plan.
Known as the HCP, the plan is aimed at stopping the decline of endangered wildlife and complying with the federal Endangered Species Act. The plan’s goal is to provide a sustainable amount of timber while safeguarding mature forests. But the plan has become controversial because it would bring some decline in harvest.
The HCP was scheduled to be adopted last fall, but controversy has pushed back its adoption.
“No one wants to see a mill close,” Schillinger said. “However, with the current log supply restrictions in Oregon and the likelihood of additional restrictions on state forests in the coming years, we just can’t see a viable future for the Banks facility.”
Environmental groups said Hampton was using the HCP as an excuse to close a mill that was aging. They pointed out Hampton was investing $150 million in upgrading and expanding a nearby mill in Willamina.
“Blaming this mill closure (on) the state forest HCP just seems like a convenient scapegoat for Hampton for what is really part of a long-range business plan,” said Michael Lang, senior policy program manager for the Wild Salmon Center.
Hampton spokeswoman Kristin Rasmussen disputed that, saying the expansion in Willamina was meant to make the plant more efficient and wouldn’t increase the workforce.
Bottom line, she said, the Banks mill was heavily dependent on state forests, and with a long-term plan for a smaller harvest, “there just aren’t enough logs to operate the mill going forward.”
Lang said he was skeptical a company with as much private timberland suffered from a lack of available timber. He said it was just an attempt to make the HCP look bad, while in reality, it was necessary to restore balance and ecosystems in state forests that have been aggressively cut over the past 10 years.
“After decades of over-harvest, the HCP is a necessary step to stop the decline of endangered salmon and wildlife,” he said.
Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Hampton Lumber closes sawmill, blames Oregon Habitat Conservation Plan
