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.

Why widespread tree mortality is not prevalent in coastal forests?

By Thembi Borras

During the last six months, since I have been producing articles, the most popular interest of readers has been causes and management of tree decline and mortality. Ironically, I left college believing that coastal forests were little afflicted by diseases and insects and that all of the serious problems were found in the Sierran and southern mountain ranges. While I continue to learn the numerous insects and diseases that cause decline and mortality of trees in coastal forests, coastal forests do not suffer the widespread tree mortality that shock certain communities, like Lake Tahoe and Lake Arrowhead. Why isn't widespread tree mortality prevalent in coastal forests?

Firstly, insect outbreaks become epidemic, causing widespread tree mortality, more often than disease outbreaks and insect outbreaks are more prevalent in dry regions as compared to outbreaks of disease, which are more prevalent in moist regions. Some insect genera emit pheromones, a potent chemical that attract other insects that can result in a population explosion, whereas the rate of spread of diseases is regulated by its vectors, such as wind and water, and is comparatively slower. Generally, in our coastal forests, trees die individually or in relatively small groups, resulting in little impact at the landscape level.

Secondly, single species forests are more prevalent in the Sierras. Single species forests are more susceptible to widespread mortality because a different tree species that may not be susceptible to a host specific insect is not present to break up the progression of the outbreak.

Thirdly, pines are more prevalent in the Sierran and southern mountain ranges and certain tree species, such as pine, are more susceptible to insect infestation. In fact, some of the most damaging forest epidemics are in pine forests.

Another reason that I did not learn as much about the diseases and insects that cause tree decline and mortality in coastal forests is because less is known about them. There is a comprehensive and accessible body of work about Sierran insects and diseases because the large amount of publicly owned land and visible widespread tree mortality in the Sierras has been a recipe for money, research and lands on which to do that research.

A portion of this production was gleaned from a conversation with Jack Marshall, Forest Pathologist at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. If you have a local disease or insect question for Jack Marshall, he can be reached at Howard Forest in Willits at 707-459-7448.