Correct analogy in concept, but the facts a bit off.... :)

Timber exports actually were important from the first "pioneer days" (though not during the fur trading days in the early 1800s).

What really set off the first economic boom in Oregon actually WAS the export of timber. There was a huge demand for high-quality lumber in California after gold was discovered in 1849, for framing timbers in mines, railroad trestles, etc.

In the 1850s (when my family moved there), Oregon was exporting timber not only to California, but to China and Australia. I don't think the East Coast became a big market until after the railroads were built, maybe not until the Panama Canal. In the 19th century there was still lots of good lumber in New England, though they were using Oregon fir for ship's masts at least. In short, long-distance trade in logs was profitable even with 19th century transportation technology.

ALso, what Oregon and Washington have exported is mostly fir, to a lesser extent cedar and spruce. Pine is pretty cheap stuff. :)

As for it being profitable to send raw Oregon logs to Japan now, that would be less true if Japan didn't make it so tough to import finished wood products as part of their general protectionist bent....

There is, however, a Mars-relevant point here. The reason behind the Oregon boom was that it had valuable, exportable resources: fur, timber, and salmon. And what made settling there practical was that by the 1850s, it was affordable to transport the necessary goods to the region that could not be obtained locally, whether due to lack of raw materials or of specialized manufacturing capability.

Migration there was NOT simply about finding a quiet new place with land to develop one's own self-sustaining farm. Certainly, that's what some emmigrants wanted, but what really made for a booming economy able to absorb a large number of migrants was the ability to produce commodities for export that were valuable on world markets.

In fact, they *had* to generate a surplus because they needed to import all sorts of stuff. Settlements in Oregon were importing metal, tools, transportation equipment, etc. Even as late as the 1890s they were importing finished wood products from the east coast because there were not enough/advanced enough mills out West to produce specialty items. "Pioneer" settlements were NEVER self-sufficient, any more than Portland and Seattle grow their own coffee beans today.