Jon Aschenbach at the Intertribal Timber Council Meeting

I'm in Lewiston, Idaho at the Intertribal Timber Council meeting. There are over 325 participants attending, from a variety of tribes across the US. Everyone is upbeat and seem to be enthusiastic about the timber industry, even with a crummy economy.

This group is well known in the forest products industry as one that manages a huge amount of timberland. They are especially good at working together for the common good of all tribal forestry programs.

Yesterday, instead of going on the Forestry Tour that is a normal part of the conference, I opted to play hooky and I went turkey hunting with a friend of mine. I carried a camera, so all turkeys were certainly safe from me. We saw some of the most amazing country in Southeast Washington/Northeast Oregon that I have seen in a long time. We met a cowboy who manages a ranch of a few thousand acres. It is some of the most rugged cattle grazing country in the US. The cattle never get any hormones, antibiotics, or anything else to compromise the quality of the meat. It is sold as organic, range free beef and it certainly lives up to that quality. If anyone in the Oregon/Washington area wants to buy a quarter or half a beef, the price is very reasonable. Email me if you want info. I don't make a dime on the sale, it's just to help a very deserving cowboy who lives the life a lot of us dream about. He puts 3,000 miles a year on horses, in country that is steeper than steep.

Next week, I'll be at the Oregon SAF meeting at 7 Feathers casino in southern Oregon. I'll report back on the latest developments for the Oregon Forest Products industry. The CEO of Roseburg Forest Products will give the keynote address.