1990

The Spotted Owl Years

The northern spotted owl was listed and federal timber came off the market across Oregon, Washington, and California. The supply of high-grade Douglas fir and cedar tightened almost overnight. Log prices climbed while a recession held lumber prices down, and by the end of 1993 the business had shrunk by nearly half. Patrick sold the two remanufacturing plants it had built and went back to trading wood and outsourcing the milling. A base of thousands of customers carried the company through. It came out smaller, and it came out standing.