Neal Ewald, vice president of California operation at Green Diamond Resources, “The California Redwood Company,” spoke to how far we have come in terms of environmental management in the forest industry at the Esri Forestry GIS Solutions Conference. The photo representation of clear cuts in redwood forests, with display of old caterpillar tractors cutting roads wherever they could reach, and leaving the land barren and un-remediated provided the “pin-drop” moment of the presentation. These practices led to outrage and a dramatic change in how forests are managed.
As a result of the need to manage impacts, the company created a fish and wildlife department to demonstrate in a scientifically-valid way the habitat management plans for forests. Conservation planning is now a huge part of the operation, with broad changes in how they cut with 25% of the forests retained. Leaving a lot of trees on the landscape is designed to protect watersheds and terrestrial species, with marked improvements for both.
Among the changed management practices are:
- the company has moved toward shovel logging as tractors on the landscape leave skid trails that drive erosion and impact water quality
- helicopter spraying of herbicides is replaced by on-the-ground application. The change is that there is only one application, with a 50% drop in cost.
- they are also active in fixing the road system to one lane and remediating any erosion events
The heavy management of forests trades off the landscape of devastation, going from war to peace in our conservation efforts. Redwood is heavily managed because heartwood sells at a 50% premium in the market. The company is trading off knowing more about the forests, so that yields are high, because they can charge that premium. The expectation of higher returns provides the benefit of investing for the future.
