The
Myrtlewood Master - Continued
Conservation
The big issue in today’s myrtlewood industry is availability.
When forests are clear-cut, herbicides are sprayed to kill off any plants and any trees that might compete with incoming fir crops being planted.
When Oregon logging reached its zenith in the 1970s and ‘80s, Stanfill appealed to then-Gov. Vic Atiyeh. “I discussed with him the value of myrtlewood and alder. They had no inclination that one day those alder and other trees would be a highly-valued industry product.
“It doesn’t mean they were wrong, it just means they weren’t steering the ship too good.”
Now he struggles to compete with those in foreign countries for what little myrtlewood is available for the few remaining manufacturers. Europeans haven’t seen natural-wood bowls for years, Stanfill says, because they don’t have trees free of creosote, turpentine and kerosene.
Myrtlewood is nontoxic. Its leaves can be used for cooking and its oils for perfumes.
It favors growing along the southern Oregon coast, but strays inland as much as 40 miles.
The tree’s seeds don’t usually germinate outside its home range, but they can be grown in a nursery and transplanted to northern Oregon.
Myrtlewood grows quickly, Stanfill says ... but not quickly enough for his needs. “I prefer a tree with tight growth rings, ideally between 400 and 800 years old.”
Myrtlewood manufacturers rarely go out and cut a tree anymore.
Rather, they are supplied by trees from highway rights-of-way, development, timber harvests and, more recently, from old homesteads where people are selling the timber before they sell the farm, Stanfill says. “Which is the new way of not leaving much for tomorrow,” he adds.
“It’s happening all over the state. And I never was able to convince the governor to be patient and wait for the market to arrive. To this day, forestry management doesn’t begin without a spray can of herbicide.
“In 40 or 50 years, a single myrtlewood tree will be a rare find.”
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BY:GARRET JAROS
For the Headlight-Herald
©Headlight-Herald
January 2, 2008