From SAFnet.org
In the past, engineers and biologists commonly removed large woody debris (LWD)-logs larger than 18" in diameter and longer than 12 feet-from streams throughout the West to improve fish passage and increase the amount of water the streams conveyed. However, in the 1980s, scientists began to realize the important role LWD played in stream ecology. For example, salmon and trout rely on such material for cover habitat, it provides traps for sediment, and it helps slow floodwaters. So, to correct decades of stream mismanagement, streams throughout the West began to be restored with LWD.
Yet, although the practice of returning LDW to streams made sense ecologically, some in the forest products industry questioned whether it made sense economically.
"The problem with many restoration efforts is that a mile of stream contains 100-400 pieces of LWD," said Jim Dooley, president of the Federal Way, Washington-based forest products company Forest Concepts, LLC. "Diverting that many large, valuable logs away from sawmills and into restoration projects is not cost-effective."
In addition to economics, there are other concerns ranging from protecting stream banks to public safety, he said.
When the Pacific salmon was listed as an endangered species in the mid-1990s, about 5,000 miles of stream with no access was designated as critical habitat," said Dooley. "Getting the necessary equipment close to the streams so the restoration could take place was a source of ecological concern."
Another challenge, said Dooley, was the state of Washington's interest in getting the public to participate in the restoration effort, which raised issues of public safety given the potential for accidents associated with LDW and the machinery required to move it.
Yet, rather than throw up their arms in defeat, these problems associated with the use of LDW got Dooley and his colleagues thinking about new ways to restore streams without large logs.
Thus, said Dooley, "We asked ourselves, How can we use small-diameter timber to make it easier for the public to help with stream restoration projects?" Shortly thereafter, Dooley and his partner John "Jocko" Burk developed an idea to build a structure from readily available small-diameter trees that would mimic the stream restorative functions of naturally occurring LWD. Today, that structure is known as ELWdTM (pronounced "elwood"), a product that consists of 8 pieces of small-diameter timber which, when put together, resembles something akin to a hollow, wooden pipe.
"It took us about two years (from 1996 to 1998) to develop a product that met the specifications of biologists and forest hydrologists," said Dooley. "Today there are between 300-400 in place throughout Oregon, Washington, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan."
According to Dooley, ELWd is not only another use for small-diameter timber-a resource he refers to as an "underutilized" given the decrease in the region's pulpwood market-it's also effective.
"After we developed the concept, we partnered with the University of Washington (UWA) to test its affect on fish and stream ecology," he said. "Two studies by UWA graduate students found that ELWd logs functioned as good or better than traditional LDW in stream habitats."
Since then, said Dooley, the use of ELWd in such projects was incorporated into the Washington State stream restoration handbook.
Given the apparent effectiveness of ELWd, John "Jocko" Burke, Forest Concepts cofounder and past-chair of the Washington SAF, said that this product, and others like it, may not only restore western waterways but the region's forest products industry as well.
"ELWd products are designed to be made in rural communities near the forests from which the small-diameter materials are harvested," he said. "This is the key to creating a market for small-diameter logs."
And that value is likely to increase given that, since ELWd's introduction, the company has developed other products for use in wetlands and in areas lacking coarse woody debris.
Moreover, said Dooley, such uses for small-diameter timber makes it easier for private forestland owner's to connect with their communities by enhancing the habitat of natural areas throughout their property."
This piece was adapted from the article "ELWd: A Small-Diameter Timber Product," by Roy Anderson, which first appeared in Montana Forest Products Marketing News.
For more information, contact Jim Dooley, president, Forest Concepts, LLC, 1911 Southwest Campus Drive, Federal Way, WA 98023-6441; (253) 838-4759; jdooley@seanet.com; www.elwdsystems.com.
