June 30th 1999

Editorial                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ukiah Daily Journal
June 30, 1999

When we reported several months ago that the Mendocino Redwood Company was going to experiment with the idea of making hardwood flooring out of tan oaks growing on much of the land the company bought from Louisiana-Pacific, it seemed almost too good to be true.

After all, reopening the Willits sawmill and creating a valued added product out of what has traditionally been considered a trash tree compared to the redwoods and firs it has crowded out - well, could it really be done?

Yes, says MRC President Sandy Dean, who hatched the idea when the company realized that tan oak was a significant part of its holdings.

Today the company announced its experiments worked and it hopes to be producing hardwood flooring from Mendocino County tan oaks by next year.

The proliferation of tan oak on much of what used to be redwood forests in Mendocino County is simply the result of over-logging through the years by Louisiana-Pacific and others. Dean says he thinks he can regenerate redwoods and limit the tan oak supply to about 15 percent of the company's forests. That 15 percent will keeping a flooring operation in business and not only supply jobs in Willits, but keep the Ukiah sawmill busy too, as the rough cut flooring will leave Willits and move to Ukiah where it will be finished.

MRC has taken its share of criticism since becoming a forestland owner in Mendocino County. Much of the criticism we believe has been unfair and stems from years of mistrust - largely deserved - of large timber owners like Louisiana-Pacific and Pacific Lumber.

MRC has said it is here to rejuvenate its forestlands and keep our much-reduced timber economy alive. They're also in business and this plan shows they can make the conditions on the ground work to their advantage instead of simply taking advantage as others have done.

Copyright 1999 Ukiah Daily Journal