The Redwood Lumber Industry Takes a Now Inventory

By Ben S. Allen Calilornia Redwood Association

It is not novel for an editor of a publication interestetl in timber and its products to ask for an appraisal of the achievements and difficulties of the industry. And this appraisal does not present any unusual difficulties for the writer. In this instance he r,r'ould call on the secretarl, and forester of the Association for the usual statistics. He would make simiiar requests of the directors of the Re_ search and Pronrotion Divisions and rvould thereby be able to present an adequate report summed up in vvhat might be termed an inventory of progress. This u,ould mean that the writer r,r'ould be responsible onlv for string- ing words together.

And this report for the tin.rber industry of the redrvoocl region this year would be rather pleasant to l,r,rite because the curve on the chart has been generally upward, register- ing substantial gains not only in production but also ir_.. mechanical and management progress. These gains have been sound but not sensational uthich, in our opinion, means that the lumber industry in the redvvood region has settled dor,vn aftei its World \Var II and post-rvar hectic history.

However, in this instance in making this report, the stall of the California Redwood Association agrees that it ought to be based on something which is a bit too intangible tcr permit the plotting of a curve on the chart. Indeed, it is so fragile that one feels the necessity of avoiding even specifically regarding it and yet it shor.rld have a definite spot in the asset column of any annual reporr.

\\re refer to the quite apparent progress made in what might be termed the team effort betrveen the industry and the public. N{ore specifically, n'e feel that the grorvth rif the tree farm movement in the redu'ood region, the imlirorrements in forest management and the attention given by the industry to better forest practices and fire preverrtiorr cor,stitute a record which earns the right to publication at this time.

The California Redrvood Association was given the :rrrthority to grant tree farm certificates in the redr,r,oorl rcgiorr in 1950, so we are considering a little bit more tharr the calendar year. This also meant that the Associatiorr \\':rs a bit late in taking over this responsibility, but it u'ls found that not only a number of its own members, lrut several operations outside of its membership, \\rere rluite ready to qualify. The result has been that it can lte rccorded nolv that slightly over 110,000 acres of timber in the redu'ood region have qualified and been granted certificates. This extends from a tree farm of 27 .tcres to 6.5,000 acres under one or,l'nership.

There is no intent here to enter into the conventional figures of an annual report, but t.e do l>elieve that it is irrterestir-rg to point out that in or-er 5O years the park Systern of California has acquirgd 72,000 acres of redrvood r.naintained in perpetuity u'hile the tree farm movement h:rs secured over I 10,000 acres in a little over a vear. likervise to be maintained perpetuall1..

Jlut l'hat we are really interested irr is the effect that this has had both on the industry and the public. In this connection it is significant that the red.n'ood industry has traditionally lteen conservative. It has had to learn the harcl 'rvay, and it has paid for its experience as cheerfully ls it could, but lvithout calling on government aid or anr' other outside assistance. This led to an attitude rvhich \\':rs not healthy for good public relations. There was never ;rnv "public bq damned" attitucle on the part of the oper:rtors, but they simply did not concede that the public had ar.r interest in what they rvere doing.

Nou. they know, and chiefly through the incidence of the tree farm movement, that the public has a lively interest in the industry. It can be said fairly and without

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From the 'oBoys and Girls" at FIR-TEX:

SIAN IAOORE _ JOHN MOORE -- JACK CASE

SPENCE FARROWVIC O'DONNELLIOM COONEY

DICK HUNTFRANK IUCKER _ JIAA GAUTTART ASHBY

STAN 'UOORE, JR. _ ROY HOTKER!IBOB'' FOREfIAAN

KENNY BURREII _ AIARVIN CASWETTCHUCK MATMISTER

..IAARGE'' SHORTANABET TEGGETT _ .'GUS'' KELIY

ETEANOR "DEE'' WEBER _ DONNA STEWARI