Markets fall, trees don't, raising risk of wildfires Wallowa-Whitman National Forest managers are concerned as the housing construction market continues to stagnate. The decreased demand for wood products means that mills are struggling, and in some cases closing. Without them, says Steve Ellis, the forest supervisor for the past four years, forests, already at a high risk for wildfires, could become even more dense. How is the timber industry affected by the troubled housing and construction market? What we're seeing here in northeast Oregon is that some (timber) sales this year went without bid. That is very unusual. Within the Blue Mountain Forest this last fiscal year, there were several timber sales in which no one came to bid. Last year in Wallowa-Whitman, we had to repackage one sale to make it go. The other thing is that the price that we're getting is less this past year. In September, one (timber sale) went for just the appraised price. Nothing more. ....