Regarding Mr Hundley's letter about the use of wood chips. I worked at NEMROC for 30 years. It has a sawmill and kilns for most of that time. NEMROC's primarily products were pallet lumber and "grade" lumber which was made into furniture, flooring, and home furnishings.

Logs were cut with the intention of getting the highest yield of grade lumber. The rest used for pallets. After processing, only 36-40 percent of the entire log ended in the main products. The remainder was sawdust and wood waste, which were chipped and sold to the energy plants. When grade lumber became a usuable product in the mills, the yield might only be 18-20 percent of the original log.

Hundley states lumber should only be used for furniture, homes, etc. How about the limbs and tree tops that have no use but as wood fuel? How about trees with no grade lumber in them and no practical use other than as fuel? Thus, there is a market and useful purpose for chips as we manage our forests. Leaving them behind is a terrible waste and unprofitable for all in the industry.

NEMROC heats its buildings by burning sawdust and chips in a boiler (Like many wood industries). While the mositure content usually runs about 80 percent, it does burn mostly without the use of auxillary fuels when heating the water. Not efficient in terms of our home furnances, but an efficient, no cost use of a "waste" product. What other choice is there for all the chips and sawdust created by our wood industries?

NEMROC, wood producers, users and individuals support prudent management of our forests. Surveys show our national forests are increasing at a rate of 5-10 percent per year. "Tree huggers" don't want you to know that.

Howard D. French

Lachine