Yesterday's Lost Logs Converted To Treasure

By Jennifer McCary
Timber Harvesting / October 2000

ASHLAND, Wis.

The world's idea of sunken treasure has expanded in the last decade with the birth of a viable new industry known as underwater log recovery. Today there are many underwater log suppliers around the world. But a pioneer of this new form of logging, which relies on divers and cranes or air bags instead of sawyers and skidders, is treasure hunter Scott Mitchen.

Although his grandfather had been a logger, Scott Mitchen chose another career path, diving for conventional treasures in the Great Lakes and countless other watery graves around the world. But his search frequently led him to digging through piles of submerged logs scattered along the bottom of Lake Superior. Eventually, he came to the realization that perhaps the logs, more than the coins and other artifacts, might prove to be the real hidden booty.

They were, after all, logs from a bygone time when Paul Bunyan-types hoisted axes or crosscut saws and yelled 'Timberrrrr!' as the hingepin snapped and these majestic trees slowly toppled to the forest floor with a muted thud. Felled during the heyday of Midwestern lumber production (late 1800s, early 1900s), the logs were branded with mill stamps scored into the butt end, then floated to the dozen or so sawmills that dotted the shoreline and inlets of Lake Superior. 

Had they arrived, these logs would have been sawn into lumber that was used to build cities like Chicago, after the great fire in 1871, and Detroit during the industrial expansion era. This was an exciting period in U.S. history when industry thrived and the population exploded from 40 million in 1870 to 100 million in 1916. Of that growth, 25 million were immigrants who needed housing and jobs. Mining, steel, railroad and oil industries prospered as the nation moved westward. Inventors churned out new ideas that quickly led to new industries such as the automotive and communications fields. Workers flocked to the cities to fill the factory jobs, creating more housing needs.

The logs buried at the bottom of the lake missed their intended appointment with history. As they bobbed along for days and weeks, water gradually displaced the oxygen in the wood cells. The logs absorbed their weight in water and then some. With moisture contents up to 225%, these saturated logs sank to the bottom where they have remained for the past 100 years or more.

In talking with some of the old timers, Mitchen learned that though they were old and waterlogged, the wood's integrity was probably still intact. In a way it was the very thing that sunk them--the lack of oxygen--that also preserved them from decay. The fact that these were logs that were cut from a slow growing, multi-storied forest was even more appealing. One recovered cypress log, for example, was 1,024 years old, based on a ring count the company had done at the University of Arkansas. Lumber and veneers recovered from this wood would have aesthetically desirable qualities--such as tighter grains and wider dimensions--not typically found in today's timber. Over time in some species, the wood's sugars and resins would also give way to the water, quietly creating a unique future resource for musical instrument makers of the 21st century. There is evidence that the famous Stradivarius instruments were created by soaking the wood some 15 years or so. Today's instrument manufacturers have the advantage of precision technology, combined with the unique resonant qualities available in this wood.

In 1992, Mitchen launched Superior Water-Logged Lumber Co., whose mission was to recover underwater logs and process them into valuable products that would appeal to niche markets like historic renovations, furniture reproductions and musical instruments, as well as other architectural applications. The 33-acre mill site in Ashland is a previously abandoned sawmill that had been idled several years earlier.

The Timeless Timber trademark is also billed as environmentally friendly since these logs are retrieved rather than harvested. The company recently received its SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) certification, which is endorsed by the international Forest Stewardship Council. The certification pertains to only underwater logging and the company's use of 100% recovered wood. 

Learning Curve

The first thing that had to be done before the new company could bring up a log was to establish ownership of the recovered logs. Mitchen worked to get legislation passed in Wisconsin that would place ownership with the company that invests in recovering the logs while providing fee revenues to the state. Superior Water-Logged Lumber has been instrumental in getting similar legislation passed in New York, Michigan, and Ontario, Can. 

There is a lot more to logging underwater than one might expect. First, of course, is the issue of finding them. Technology now allows the company to map river and lake bottoms using a sonar system to do site scans pinpointing log locations. This data is tied in with a real-time global positioning satellite system. Using these coordinates, the recovery boat will be able to return to within a couple feet of the exact location to retrieve the logs. 

Then comes the real challenge--getting all necessary permits from a half-dozen or more government agencies in a timely manner. According to the company's President and CEO David (Caz) Neitzke, the window of opportunity for recovery dives is approximately May to November. 

"So each time they (a permit agency) 30 or 60 day us, they have the propensity to put us out of the season," he states. "It's all been a learning curve but from my first lessons, I've learned how to deal with some of the antics of permitting agencies." The most effective method he's found is to bring representatives from all agencies together at one time so that issues can be discussed and resolved efficiently.

The process is different in each location. In Wisconsin, for example, there are six permitting agencies: Board of Commissioners of Public Lands; Army Corp of Engineers; Historical Society, Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources; Coastal Management; and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 

"The biggest thing I need to do is an educational process," states Neitzke. "You have to explain how this is not destroying the bottom and it's not destroying fish habitat. It's a selective harvest, like you would do on land." All logs do not meet the company's criteria in species, quality or dimensional specifications. In some areas, he notes, they may only remove 10-15% of the logs on the bottom, leaving a lot of the habitat structure in place. And although logs may provide some shade or have microorganisms on them, they are not typically the ideal protection for small fry. Deadfall with root systems still attached is a more conducive fish habitat.

Claims from Native American tribes added a new wrinkle, which has pretty much halted Wisconsin's permitting process the past three years. News reports cite various concerns that deal with environmental disturbance, ownership of sunken logs, believed to have been destined for a Native American sawmill, and a claim that the area is "holy land" because two alleged underwater ancestral burial grounds are located amidst a large cache of sunken logs. 

"The positive side of that thing is that it got me going in other directions," states Neitzke, who came on board about the time the debate began. There are now approximately 20 independent log diver suppliers delivering to the Ashland sawmill operation via truck or railcar. All suppliers must present copies of their permits and signed affidavits stating that the recovered logs meet all state, federal or provincial criteria. Underwater logs have been retrieved from Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Idaho, Arkansas and Louisiana. 

"We're a public company, and it's very important for us to make sure that we abide by all federal and state and provincial laws. We do need to have a good name for the industry and we work very hard to be environmental friendly," says Neitzke. 

The nostalgia of recovering a piece of history; the politically correct concept of resource recovery without cutting a single tree; and the uniqueness of the wood itself have all served to attract a lot of media attention and with it the "get rich quick" shysters. "There are some trying to make a living buying illegal logs," observes Neitzke. "We're so high profile that those who are doing this illegally end up giving us and the industry a bad image." That's why the company's log procurement program is very strict and heavily documented. Any rumors of illegal dealings are routinely reported to governing agencies.

Sawmill Operations

Turning saturated, barkless logs into usable products requires special handling. Logs, which can have a moisture content as much as four times higher than a fresh green log, are tarped during transport because they're more susceptible to wind and sun damage. At the mill, they're spread out on an asphalt receiving yard where they are pressure washed, graded and measured using the Scribner Decimal C scale. 

Original mill stamps on the log butts tell the log's intended destination, which helps to reasonably determine the time frame in which it was cut. These stamps are recorded on the scale sheet so that the history of the wood can be traced. Historical information is documented from revenuers' logs and other available documents. It is provided to customers with the sawn products.

Forklifts transfer the logs to storage racks inside the insulated and heated sawmill, which was one of those hard-earned lessons. Wet logs cannot be allowed to freeze because they will explode--much like a can of Pepsi left too long in the freezer. But maintaining a correct temperature range is tricky since the logs will also start checking if they get too hot or dry. 

In most cases, the bandmill sawyer quarters the log and live saws for grade. Sawing patterns vary to highlight ray flakes and other desirable grain characteristics.

Boards go through an edger and then to the green chain where they are put on sticks for the kilns. There are six aluminum steam kilns with a total charge capacity of 137MMBF. As one might expect, drying schedules were developed largely by trial and error and are proprietary.

When Neitzke, a former sawmill owner and industry consultant, joined the company in 1997, he upgraded the sawmill and installed a dimension plant for the No. 2 and No. 3 common grades. The dimension plant is equipped with a planer, multi-arbor rip saw, three chop saws, sanders, a glue system and a molder. The company produces S4S lumber, flooring, paneling and a variety of glued panel products. These are sold in an on-site gift shop, along with many items produced from the wood by area craftsmen.

Veneer logs are separated and sent to Louisiana-Pacific in Mellen to be sliced into flitches or across the street to Evergreen Veneers, which specializes in micro-thin rotary peeled veneers. One idea he hopes to develop with Evergreen is a solid wood product such as trim and molding that uses a low-grade substrate with a high-grade micro-thin veneer wrap. "That would certainly let us stretch our footage of this rare wood," he points out.

When questioned about the obviously limited log supply, Neitzke responds: "The way to put this in perspective is that in the old days floating was the only way logs got to the mills. The estimate, even in old sawmill log journals, was a 10-15% loss of logs. If you looked all over North America and considered the amount of wood that was processed in this time frame, you'd find that it was a substantial amount. But from the surveys and research we've done so far, we feel very comfortable that there is an ample supply. And that's just what we know of. It's still so new. We're the leaders in it, but we still don't have all the answers."