Changing use patterns by major users of mill residue in the Inland Northwest

This paper provides an overview of historic and expected use of mill, resid ue and roundwood pulpwood for eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, Idaho, an d Montana (hereafter referred to as the Inland West). Consumption estimates were developed based on reported historic, current, and projected wood use for wood consuming facilities in the region. Estimated and projected consu mption is reported for 1988, 1995, 2000, and 2005, by fiber source. The ove rall availability of mill residue in the Inland West declined by more than 30 percent behween 1988 and 1995 and is projected to continue to decline th rough 2005. In spite of the decline in mill residue availability the total use of fiber by major user; of mill residue is projected to increase throug h 2005. Increased fiber use at a time when the users' major source of raw m aterial had declined substantially was only possible through shifts to othe r sources of fiber. This shift involved a near quadrupling of the use of ro undwood pulpwood from the region's softwood forests, the increased use of r ecycled cardboard, the establishment of short-rotation hybrid poplar planta tions in the Columbia River Basin and the procurement of fiber from a varie ty of other sources. Results also indicate that while the market for roundw ood pulpwood is expected to be substantially larger in the future than it w as historically, it will remain a relatively small component of the overall fiber mix in the Inland West. Similarly, the use of recycled cardboard is projected to remain constant through 2005, but chips from intensive culture plantations are projected to increase dramatically over the next decade.