The US federal government is generally not clearcutting in USFS lands in California. The US Forest Service once used clearcutting routinely for logging, but passage of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 required that additional studies be made before any harvesting methods could be employed. Partial cutting, group selection, and selective harvesting methods were tried and found to be effective in many locations, especially where forest sites were hot and dry. The Forest Service, under Chief Dale Robertson, proposed new policies in 1988, and again in 1992, calling for the elimination of clearcutting by as much as 70 percent from the 1988 levels (Source: Gerald Williams, Ph.D., Controversy Over Clearcutting, 2008). In recent years, there has been pressure to use clearcutting to “clean up” severely burned forests on public lands. This is a controversial topic, but the science supports selective harvesting of burned forests to preserve those elements that help a forest to heal and regrow.
Most small and mid-size timber owners are not clearcutting. They are using selection harvest, thinning and smaller group openings (very small cleared areas). The larger industrial timber companies that rarely use clearcutting are Mendocino Redwood Company (based in Mendocino and Sonoma Counties); Humboldt Redwood Company (formerly Pacific Lumber Company, based in Humboldt County); and Collins Pines (based in Plumas County).
Mendocino Redwood Company’s stated purpose has been to demonstrate that forestlands can be managed productively with a high standard of environmental stewardship. After years of aggressive harvesting on more than 228,800 acres that included extensive clearcutting, the company’s goal is to restore its property to a selectively harvested forest of mostly Redwood and Douglas Fir. Stewardship objectives include measurable improvements in aquatic and upslope habitat, old growth protection, clean water, and community well-being, in addition to producing long-term sustainable timber supplies.
Humboldt Redwood Company is modeling its operations on what has worked well for Mendocino Redwood Company over the past 12 years. Within the first week of operation, Humboldt Redwood Company began converting Timber Harvesting Plan (THP) units that had been approved for clearcutting under the previous owner to selection-harvest units on its 209,300 acres. Both companies have a policy of open and transparent operations, and are willing to take interested members of the public anywhere on their forestlands. Humboldt Redwood Company has eliminated clearcutting and received certification from the Forest Stewardship Council. The company is strongly reducing herbicide use, protecting old-growth trees, and focusing on more habitat conservation.
Collins Pine is a privately owned family company with approximately 94,000 acres of softwood in northeastern California. All three Collins forests—307,000 total acres in Pennsylvania, Almanor, and Lakeview—have been independently certified by SCS Global Services in accordance with the standards and policies of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Collins timberlands are biodiverse, multi-layered, canopied forests, not single-species tree plantations. The Collins Companies believes that third-party, independent certification of its forestland is the best way to protect the legacy of the total forest ecosystem.