Alder
LATIN NAME: Alnus rubra
OTHER COMMON NAMES: red alder, Western red alder, Western alder
Janka Hardness Value: 590
Western red alder is very abundant in the U.S. forest and under-utilised. The Seneca Creek Risk Assessment states that "most red alder is grown and harvested in managed timber stands, and the data show an increase in forest area in the red alder supply region as a whole....Both Oregon and Washington have comprehensive forest practice rules. In Washington, harvest permit applications require that any forest conversions conform to growth management plans and thus require that the permit be subject to both state and local county approval, processes that require comprehensive review and stakeholder input." Historical inventories indicate that the abundance of red alder has increased about 20-fold since the 1920s. A significant portion of the U.S. red alder resource is not available for harvest; forest practices rules constrain timber management in riparian areas where red alder is most abundant. Also, very little red alder is sold from public lands, although substantial inventory occurs there.
