FSC on TV

In late January, FSC US President Sarah Billig and Pacific Northwest Regional Manager Alex Thoman joined representatives from FSC certified Humboldt Redwood Company and Green Diamond Resource Company as well as World Wildlife Fund to film an episode of the educational television documentary series Now We Know!.

Filming of the documentary took place at the FSC-certified sawmill and timberlands of Humboldt Redwood Company, based in Scotia, California. The participants and film crew were first given an in-depth tour of the Scotia sawmill. The mill, situated on the banks of the Eel River, is at the heart of some of the most productive timberlands in California. Fast growing and well managed stands of timber on nearby Humboldt Redwood Company lands result in a consistent supply of logs that make the company the leading supplier of FSC-certified Redwood and Douglas-fir products. On top of sustainable wood products, the mill also provides hundreds of local jobs to the surrounding rural communities.

After filming and touring the mill, the group headed to the woods to see restoration projects, active forest management, and areas of high conservation value on Humboldt Redwood Company lands. In a tour guided by staff foresters and wildlife biologists, the group was led to a salmonid habitat restoration area where work has been conducted to improve the quality spawning habitat for a variety of anadromous fish species. Numerous adult salmon were seen actively spawning in the stream where this project had been completed.

At another location, the group observed an ongoing active forest management project. Operations were being conducted using a cable yarder; a specialized piece of logging equipment, utilized when harvests occur on steep slopes. The cable yarder, situated at the top of the harvest area, uses long steel cable lines to hoist logs off the ground and haul them back to the log landing. This harvest system minimizes soil disturbance as no heavy equipment is required to operate on the steep hillside.

Lastly, an old-growth Redwood stand was visited and appreciated by all. The staff guiding the tour explained that old-growth coastal Redwood stands have an immense conservation value as areas that support an array of unique flora and fauna. One of these is the Marbled Murrelet, a small seabird native to the Pacific Northwest that utilizes old-growth forests for nesting; female Marbled Murrelets lay a single egg on the large moss-covered branches of these large trees. Unfortunately, due to historic logging of old-growth forests, the Marbled Murrelet has become a threatened species under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Humboldt Redwood Company has established Marbled Murrelet Conservation Areas to protect this critical habitat, as well as numerous old-growth conservation commitments to protect old-growth across their ownership. Humboldt Redwood Company and sister company Mendocino Redwood Company are the only large industrial forestland owners to have such a comprehensive old-growth protection policy.