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fornia redwood began when the Indians used trees felled by wind, lightningor old age tomake dugout canoes and boards for crude shelter.

In 1769 a Spanish expedition recorded the grandeur of the majestic trees which they called plo colorodo because of the red color. Commercial lumbering of redwood dates back to the l8th century when Spanish settlers, after using redwood timbers to build the mission at Santa Clara, found redwood useful for aqueducts, vats and carved furniture.

In 1809 the Russians built Fort Ross on the California coast from redwood. As the West became more populated with the Gold Rush of '49, redwood became a popular building material, especially in San Francisco. From California the use of redwood spread throughout the nation and the world with billions of board feet of lumber shipped from San Francisco and nearby Mendocino County ports. Today, as evidenced by the handsome homes pictured across the page, redwood continues to be a prime choice of homebuilders across the country.

Considering that all commercial redwood originates in one area, a 500 mile strip of land along the Pacific coast, many marvel at the apparently unending supply. Credit for the quantity of high quality redwood available goes to the lumber industry which

Story at a Glance

Producers assure ample supply of redwood. .relorestation and modem manufacturing techniques...homeowners across the country buy its beauty and durability.

practices reforestation and efficient manufacturing techniques.

In addition to fostering the continued supply of redwood, they have insured improved quality and productivity of redwood timberlands so that all grades of California redwood including clear all heart remain in good supply. With dedication to forest management, a sustained yield (harvest matching rate of growth) is maintained. Prompt restocking of the land after harvest, thinning, fertilizing and good fire protection assure a continuous supply of redwood.

For example, Simpson Timber Co. has helped pioneer a tissue culture process that uses cuttings to produce exact genetic duplicates of superior parent trees. Cuttings are shot from high branches of selected trees with a rifle, then used to produce clones which reproduce the superior characteristics of the parent trees, thus insuring quality and productivity.

At Louisiana-Pacific's Clotilde Merlo Forest Research Center and Tree Nursery redwood trees are started from seed each spring. These seedlings are planted November through February with a planter being able to put 1200 to 1700 seedlings in the ground on an average eight hour day. Survival rate is 8690. L-P also sponsors the Tree Enterprise program to encourage good management by private landowners.

Georgia-Pacific plants over 2.3 million genetically superior seedlings each year on its 200,000 acres of timberland to aid in the natural regeneration of redwood. Grown in the company's nursery at Fort Bragg, Ca., the eight to ten inch, six month old trees are hand planted in soil and climate conditions identical to the "parent" or seed trees. This method ensures maximum survival, usually around 9890.

Milling of redwood requires precise handling with as many as 45 designated and special purpose grades of lumber cut from one tree. Pacific Lumber Co., which has an annual production capacity of 70 million board feet at its large log redwood mill, is said to be the largest single manufacturer of clear all heart redwood, supplying the mill from its own 167,000 acres of managed forest land. They recently renovated the mill, installing new equipment and overhauling old equipment to insure their production capability.

At historic Fort Bragg, an important wood manufacturing center since 1884, acquired by Georgia-Pacific in 1973, extensive renovations have made it possible to expand capacity while reducing raw material requirements.

Nature's gift of a wood which is both beautiful and durable is being handled well in both the forest and manufacturing process to insure that retailers will have ample supplies to meet the needs of all those homeowners who love redwood.