Logs were historically important in Astoria, as seen in this 1974 photo.
The new owner of the Warrenton sawmill says a log export operation at the Port of Astoria would put the mill at risk by cutting into local timber supply.The CEO of Hampton Lumber Mills, Inc., sent a letter to Port Commission President Bill Hunsinger this week to express his company’s “disappointment” with the Port’s plans to negotiate a lease with log exporter Westerlund Log Handlers of Bremerton, Wash.
The Westerlund deal could pour $1 million a year into the Port of Astoria coffers - boosting revenue by 25 percent. It is expected to create 65 jobs, although it hasn’t been determined yet how many of them will go to unionized longshoremen. … Hunsinger, a member of ILWU Local 50, has championed the export operation. Now, the Port of Astoria spends half a million dollars on dredging and does not recoup its expenses from the cruise ships and research vessels that use Port docks, Hunsinger argues.