SOUTHERN OREGON CHAPTER AIA
Regular Monthly Meeting
December 16, 2009
The meeting was called to order at 12:00 pm in the Adams Room of the Medford
Library, 205 South Central Ave. Member Stuart Smith, Bob Siebert, Brian
Hawkins, Jac Nickels, Todd Jagels, Gene Abell, Mark McKechnie, David Stevens, Jeff
Bender, Gary Caperna, Joanne Krippaehne, Guest Steve Nelson (30126797) The
meeting minutes follow:
Mark McKechnie delivered a short farewell speech at this last meeting of his
presidency. Mark reminded the members that the design conference will occur in
May and the Regional conference will occur in October from the 13th through the
16th in Eugene. Mark also notified the group about the annual meeting in January.
Stuart Smith noted that the Chapter will focus more attention of the awarding of
scholarship funds which went un-awarded last year. Stuart asked if there was any
interest by members to serve on a scholarship committee.
PROGRAM – SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT AND LUMBER PRODUCTION
presented by Leslie Southwick and Jillian Vanderbeek – C & D Lumber
An overview of the properties of Douglas fir, Port Orford Cedar and Incense Cedar
lumber.
SFI certification is a rigorous process to become certified The Sustainable
Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) label is a sign you are buying wood and paper
products from well-managed forests, backed by a rigorous, third-party
certification.
DOUGLAS FIR:
(Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii), a variety of Douglas-fir, is an evergreen conifer native to
the coastal regions of western North America, from west-central British Columbia, Canada
southward to central California, United States. In Oregon and Washington its range is continuous
from the Cascades crest west to the Pacific Ocean. In California, it is found in the Klamath and
Coast Ranges as far south as the Santa Cruz Mountains, and in the Sierra Nevada as far south as
the Yosemite region. It occurs from near sea level along the coast to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) in
the Sierra Nevada. Further inland, Coast Douglas-fir is replaced by the related Rocky Mountain
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca). The specific name, menziesii, is after Archibald
Menzies, a Scottish physician and rival naturalist to David Douglas, who first documented the
tree on Vancouver Island in 1791.
Coast Douglas-fir is the second-tallest conifer in the world (after Coast Redwood). Trees 60–75
metres (200–250 ft) or more in height and 1.5–2 metres (4.9–6.6 ft) in diameter are common in
old growth stands, and maximum heights of 100–120 metres (330–390 ft) and diameters up to
4.5–6 metres (15–20 ft) have been documented.[2] The tallest living specimen is the "Doerner
Fir", (previously known as the Brummit fir), 99.4 m tall, at East Fork Brummit Creek in Coos
County, Oregon, the stoutest is the "Queets Fir", 4.85 m diameter, in the Queets River valley,
Olympic National Park, Washington. It commonly lives more than 500 years and occasionally
more than 1,000 years.[3]
The bark on young trees is thin, smooth, gray, and contains numerous resin blisters. On mature
trees, it is 10–30 cm thick (4-12 inches) and corky. The shoots are brown to olive-green, turning
gray-brown with age, smooth, though not as smooth as fir shoots, and finely pubescent with short
dark hairs. The buds are a very distinctive narrow conic shape, 4–8 mm long, with red-brown
bud scales. The leaves are spirally arranged but slightly twisted at the base to lie in flattish either
side of the shoot, needle-like, 2-3.5 cm long, green above with no stomata, and with two whitish
stomatal bands below. Unlike the Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, Coast Douglas-fir foliage has a
noticeable sweet fruity-resinous scent, particularly if crushed. (From Wikipedia).
Universally recognized for its superior strength to weight ratio
Visually appealing
Seasons well
Naturally stable dimensionally
INCENSE CEDAR:
Calocedrus is a genus of two to three species of coniferous trees in the cypress family
Cupressaceae; the common name is Incense-cedar. The genus is related to the genus Thuja, and
has similar overlapping scale-leaves. Calocedrus differs from Thuja in the scale leaves being in
apparent whorls of four (actually opposite decussate pairs like Thuja, but not evenly spaced apart
as in Thuja, instead with the successive pairs closely then distantly spaced), and in the cones
having just 2-3 pairs of moderately thin, erect scales, rather than 4-6 pairs of very thin scales in
Thuja. The generic name means "beautiful cedar".
Calocedrus decurrens (syn. Libocedrus decurrens, California Incense-cedar) is native to
western North America, with the bulk of the range in the United States, from central western
Oregon through most of California and the extreme west of Nevada, and also a short distance
into northwest Mexico in northern Baja California. It is a large tree, typically reaching heights of
40-60 m and a trunk diameter of up to 3 m (maxima, 69 m tall and 3.9 m diameter), and with a
broad conic crown of spreading branches. The leaves are bright green on both sides of the shoots,
and the cones 2-2.5 cm long. It is by far the most widely-known species in the genus, and is often
simply called "Incense-cedar" without the regional qualifier. This tree is the preferred host of a
wood wasp, Syntexis libocedrii which lays its eggs in the smoldering wood immediately after a
forest fire. (From Wikipedia).
High rated durability
Aromatic
Used for pencil stock
Resist shrinkage, checking weathering warping and decay
Natural light color
Has tendency for pecky interior.
Pecky timbers used for landscaping in lieu of railroad ties
Environmentally safe 100% organic
Outline:
PORT ORFORD CEDAR:
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana is a cypress in the genus Chamaecyparis, family Cupressaceae,
known by the name Lawson's Cypress in the horticultural trade, or Port Orford-cedar in its native
range (although not a true cedar). C. lawsoniana is native to the southwest of Oregon and the far
northwest of California in the United States, occurring from sea level up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft)
altitude in mountain valleys, often along streams.
It is a large evergreen coniferous tree, regularly reaching 50-70 m (200 ft) tall, with feathery
foliage in flat sprays, usually somewhat glaucous blue-green in colour. The leaves are scale-like,
3-5 mm long, with narrow white markings on the underside, and produced on somewhat
flattened shoots. The seed cones are globose, 7-14 mm diameter, with 6-10 scales, green at first,
maturing brown in early fall, 6–8 months after pollination. The male cones are 3-4 mm long,
dark red, turning brown after pollen release in early spring. The bark is reddish-brown, and
fibrous to scaly in vertical strips.
It was first discovered (by Euro-Americans) near Port Orford in Oregon and introduced into
cultivation in 1854, by collectors working for the Lawson & Son nursery in Edinburgh, Scotland,
after whom it was named as Lawson's Cypress by the describing botanist Andrew Murray. The
USDA officially calls it by the name Port Orford Cedar, as do most people in its native area, but
as it is not a cedar, many botanists prefer to avoid the name, using Lawson's Cypress, or in very
rare instances Port Orford Cypress, instead to stop confusion. The horticultural industry, in
which the species is very important, mostly uses the name Lawson's Cypress. (From Wikipedia).
Port Orford cedar slightly more resistant to rot than incense
Port Orford denser that incense more durable for decks
Incense more workable and forgiving
45% stronger than Red wood in impact bending
30% than Redwood in crushing strength
Questions and answers followed the presentation.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:15 pm.
Submitted by Gary Caperna.