April 27th 2016
Published in the Ukiah Daily Journal 4/27/16 In: Letters to the editor MRC explains forest practices To the Editor: Mendocino Redwood Company was created in 1998 from lands purchased in Mendocino and Sonoma county with the publicly declared mission to be good stewards of the forestand at the same time run a successful business. This set a different, sustainable and better path from the legacy of previous owners. In addition to the California Forest Practice Rules, MRC voluntarily subjects itself to third party verification of forest practices under the guidelines of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and has done so since 2000. With the purchase of LP lands in 1998, MRC ended the use of clearcutting and reduced the harvest rate to below 2.3 percent of standing inventory (see our website for detailed harvest rates at www.hrcllc.com/key‐policies/landscapeplanning/. This legacy includes tens of thousands of acres of redwood and Douglas fir forest that are now dominated by tanoak. MRC is committed to restoring these forestlands to the natural balance of conifer and hardwood. Beginning in 1998, when MRC was established, we spent several years on a variety of methods to treat tan oaks (including an ill‐fated and expensive effort to make tan oak flooring). After much effort, we concluded the most effective way to bring back a healthy conifer forest in our lifetime was to treat tan oak, selectively, carefully, in the woods, literally tree by tree. Treating tan oak involves using herbicide (about two cups per acre) that is injected directly into the trunk of tan oak trees, following a cut made in the bark. The treatment results in trees dropping most leaves in six to nine months (depending on the time of year), and beginning to fall down within three to four years. After several years, the treated trees largely decompose and their biomass is added to the duff layer of the forest. The treatment of tan oak reduces competition for sunlight and water allowing redwood and Douglas fir trees to thrive. Treating tan oak encourages the emergence of a healthier forest by restoring the health of redwood and Douglas fir trees. Since the inception of MRC, approximately 65,000 acres have been restored to a natural conifer balance by controlling tanoak and planting 8.8 million redwood and Douglas fir seedlings. The treatment of tanoak to restore the natural balance of conifer to hardwood is a tool used for at least 25 years. Small private landowners, industrial landowners, and state landowners all use this tool to achieve this goal in a careful and controlled manner according to state regulations. CalFire, the Lead Agency on forest regulations, independently reviews and verifies all Timber Harvest Plans (THPs). THPs are considered a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)‐ equivalent Environmental Review Document. Among many things, CalFire reviews THPs for fire safety and requires mitigations where appropriate. It is common knowledge contemporary forest management can be used as a tool to thin forests, bringing them back to the natural, fire resistant forests they once were. MRC’s policy of selectively harvesting forests removes fuel ladders, opens roads in the event a fire occurs, and replaces tanoak with more fire‐resistant redwood and Douglas fir. Recent fires in Mendocino County show little to no correlation between high fire intensity and tanoak treatment areas. In fact, some wildland fires were stopped in areas where tanoak had been treated. The fuel ladders had been removed prior to tanoak treatment, keeping the fire on the ground. MRC has reviewed its internal policies to encourage fire safety. These include procedures and processes we have used for more than a decade, such as: a. Partnering with communities to place dedicated fire‐water tanks, improve egress for remote neighbors and coordination of activities with local fire districts. b. Working in Sacramento to encourage investment in Mendocino county infrastructure through the return of taxes paid locally and deployment of CalFire resources. c. Donations of time, equipment and money to Volunteer Fire Departments. MRC strengthened its practices to improve coordinating with local fire districts, fire experts, climate experts and CalFire on pilot projects for fuels hazard reduction and additional road access in the remote parts of the County. CalFire, the Lead Agency on forest regulations, independently reviews and verifies all Timber Harvest Plans (THPs). We are working hard to restore the forest we own and set an example for other forest owners, managers and regulators to be good stewards of the forest and at the same time run a successful business. We have made significant progress in that regard: 1. Adopting policies to make MRCs forestlands FSC certified (since November 2000); 2. Adding more than 1 billion board feet of redwood and Douglas fir trees by lowering the rate of harvest; 3. Defining of old growth down to the level of an individual tree, along with implementation of a policy to protect all individual old growth trees across our property; 4. Elimination of traditional clear cutting from our property; 5. Long term investments to improve habitat for fish across the property by controlling or holding back more than 1 million cubic yards of sediment (more than 100,000 dump trucks of dirt) from the coastal streams flowing through our forest; 6. Removal of more than 36 long time fish barriers, increasing fish bearing streams by more than 20 miles. 7. Operating as an open and transparent business; including an open invitation to take interested individuals anywhere in the forest; 8. Completing a substantial rebuild of our Ukiah sawmill, assuring that Mendocino County will have infrastructure in the processing of wood products for many years to come; and 9. Employing about 300 skilled employees in Mendocino County earning family‐level wages and benefits. MRC is regulated by seven (7) state and federal agencies, including CalFire. Additionally, MRC voluntarily subjects itself to third part verification of forest practices under the guidelines of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and has done so since 2000. We publish our inventory and many other details of our forest management on our website It is straightforward to find information on our management of the forest. From our inception we have encouraged transparency and we have a publicly stated policy of taking anyone to anywhere on the property at any time to see our practices first hand. Please contact John Andersen at 707‐272‐1177 to arrange for a tour. Additionally, we post our inventory and other forest facts on our website. You can find more information at www.mrc.com. — John Anderson, Mendocino Redwood Company