By Thembi Borras
Past management has shaped the forests we see today, just as current forest management will shape the forests, future generations will see. The history of forest management has been driven by many factors. More than a hundred years ago, forests were considered by many white settlers as an obstacle and cleared for homesteads and to increase the area in which livestock could graze. After World War II, the demand for housing spurred widespread timber harvesting. Decades later, when I came of age in the early 1990's, deteriorating forest conditions had galvanized a movement. Much of the disgust associated with the deteriorating forest conditions was directed at the large corporation's desirous of maximizing short term profit, but prior to the mid 1970's, tax regulation was also to blame.
According to one old-time forester, one of the most severe pressures on forestland owners, prior to 1970, was the ad valorem tax where the whole stand was taxed at 2% real current money each year. Properties throughout the State were essentially clear cut to reduce the tax basis.
The ad valorem tax law provoked property owners to harvest trees to reduce their property taxes, which undermined the integrity of the timber base of California. Given this unintended consequence, the ad valorem tax on standing timber was replaced with a yield tax on felled timber, which remains in effect today. The 1976 Timber Yield Tax Law is imposed only when a timber owner harvests timber. It also, encourages the continued use of timberlands for the production of trees for timber products, and provides restrictions on the use of timberland to the production of timber products and compatible uses.
A portion of this production was gleaned from the November 2005 Timber and Timberland Values Manual, which can be viewed at http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/timbermanualfinal.pdf
November 19, 2006
November 12, 2006
Buying Wood from Well Managed Forests
By Thembi Borras
You don't have to be a landowner, forester, or logger to influence forest management, as a consumer what you buy or don't buy is just as important. Every 2"X4", fence post and sheet of plywood comes from somewhere. When we built our home we specified wood from well managed forests or reclaimed wood, plywood glued with formaldehyde-free glue, fasteners made in the US, low VOC water based surfactants and high quality appliances that are energy efficient. Despite my knowing something about wood, the learning curve was steep and finding a retail outlet close to home that had the product in stock was not typical.
How do you know the wood you buy is from a well managed forest? I can tell you what we did. We cut all of the redwood we used from our land and had it milled on the property into 2"X6" decking and fascias, 2"X12" stringers for the outdoor stairway and boards and battens for the siding. In total, we processed one 38"diameter redwood and eight more ranging in size from 18" to 28". We bought a logging truck load of Douglas-fir logs from a local well managed forest, which we had delivered to a local mill from which our beam stock, headers, and some rafter and joist stock were milled. The balance of the Douglas-fir lumber we purchased was Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, from a retail lumberyard out of Monterey and Blue Lake. From the Monterey outlet, we also bought all of our construction grade and sturdifloor plywood, which was also FSC certified. We purchased our 2"X6" tongue and groove Douglas-fir flooring reclaimed from the ceiling and wall of an Arcata mill from a retail yard in Arcata. We bought the pine trees we had milled into tongue and groove 1"X8" ceiling material from a local working forest. We bought tanoak lumber that we finished into trim, windowsills and cabinet faces from a local Company that had harvested it from their land, locally. Finally, we bought the FSC certified hardwood plywood we used for cabinet carcasses and some built-in furniture from a large home improvement chain.
Minimizing the distance the material we used in our home traveled and living near and with the consequences and benefits of our consumption seemed right to us. However, logistics and connections may not allow you to get as close to the source. In which case, we found a level of comfort in buying FSC certified wood. Wood from FSC certified sources is evaluated by a third party initially, then again every five years according to 10 Principles and 57 Criteria that address legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts surrounding forest management and annually according to a subset of those criteria. Certifying the source is done either by certifying the Forest Manager or on a property by property basis. On the manufacturing end, the mill or plant, in order for it to use the FSC label must keep the wood from the FSC certified source separate. This is called Chain of Custody certification. To view the criteria used in our region go to http://www.fscus.org/, click on standards and policies and click on Pacific Coast Standards. To help you find the retail outlet closest to you that sells FSC certified wood go to the same website and click on product search, click on Metafore International Database , select the product, specify FSC certification, select the country and go.
You don't have to be a landowner, forester, or logger to influence forest management, as a consumer what you buy or don't buy is just as important. Every 2"X4", fence post and sheet of plywood comes from somewhere. When we built our home we specified wood from well managed forests or reclaimed wood, plywood glued with formaldehyde-free glue, fasteners made in the US, low VOC water based surfactants and high quality appliances that are energy efficient. Despite my knowing something about wood, the learning curve was steep and finding a retail outlet close to home that had the product in stock was not typical.
How do you know the wood you buy is from a well managed forest? I can tell you what we did. We cut all of the redwood we used from our land and had it milled on the property into 2"X6" decking and fascias, 2"X12" stringers for the outdoor stairway and boards and battens for the siding. In total, we processed one 38"diameter redwood and eight more ranging in size from 18" to 28". We bought a logging truck load of Douglas-fir logs from a local well managed forest, which we had delivered to a local mill from which our beam stock, headers, and some rafter and joist stock were milled. The balance of the Douglas-fir lumber we purchased was Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, from a retail lumberyard out of Monterey and Blue Lake. From the Monterey outlet, we also bought all of our construction grade and sturdifloor plywood, which was also FSC certified. We purchased our 2"X6" tongue and groove Douglas-fir flooring reclaimed from the ceiling and wall of an Arcata mill from a retail yard in Arcata. We bought the pine trees we had milled into tongue and groove 1"X8" ceiling material from a local working forest. We bought tanoak lumber that we finished into trim, windowsills and cabinet faces from a local Company that had harvested it from their land, locally. Finally, we bought the FSC certified hardwood plywood we used for cabinet carcasses and some built-in furniture from a large home improvement chain.
Minimizing the distance the material we used in our home traveled and living near and with the consequences and benefits of our consumption seemed right to us. However, logistics and connections may not allow you to get as close to the source. In which case, we found a level of comfort in buying FSC certified wood. Wood from FSC certified sources is evaluated by a third party initially, then again every five years according to 10 Principles and 57 Criteria that address legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts surrounding forest management and annually according to a subset of those criteria. Certifying the source is done either by certifying the Forest Manager or on a property by property basis. On the manufacturing end, the mill or plant, in order for it to use the FSC label must keep the wood from the FSC certified source separate. This is called Chain of Custody certification. To view the criteria used in our region go to http://www.fscus.org/, click on standards and policies and click on Pacific Coast Standards. To help you find the retail outlet closest to you that sells FSC certified wood go to the same website and click on product search, click on Metafore International Database , select the product, specify FSC certification, select the country and go.
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