Stunning news from SDS this week. A press release on September 21 says ““Under the leadership of the board, SDS will evaluate its options, including a sale of the mill and timberland businesses. “
If the mill and timber business go away, what is left for the land?
The press release also announces major changes in the composition of the SDS board, including the addition of “Sandy McDade, who joins as board chair and who spent 34 years at Weyerhaeuser, including as senior vice president and general counsel; Bill Brown, former president of Green Diamond Resource Company and chief financial officer of Plum Creek Timber Company; and Clyde Hamstreet, founder of the business consultancy Hamstreet & Associates.”
Hamstreet’s website describes the company this way. “Hamstreet & Associates works with troubled companies to manage crisis and improve financial results. We specialize in evaluating the core issues, finding solutions, and helping our clients respond effectively.”
We have been hearing for months that something like this was coming as a result of family member (shareholder) disagreements over how much income was being generated by the company. Obviously, one way to generate more income with less hassle is to get into the real estate business, particularly residential real estate. This is a scary prospect for the White Salmon River.
The time has come to ramp up our activity around the Spring Creek parcels and all the parcels in the Wild & Scenic Management Boundary. The opportunity to save these parcels may be gone soon.