Proceedings of Fifth Redwood Logsing Conference

May 23-24, l94l-Fort Brcrgg, Ccrlilornicr

By Prof. Emcnuel Fritz Consulting Forester, Cclifornic Bedwood Associqtion

The Fifth Redwood Logging Conference started off with a field trip to the Ten Mile River property of the Union Lumber Company. A flat car had been arranged with benches and was taken to the woods by a locomotive as a special train. A previously arranged schedule to visit Fred Ball's operation on Buckhorn Creek on the Little North Fork, and James Roherts' landing on the main North Fork with lunch at Camp 2 in between, was adhered to with ample time at all stops. The party, about 60, was transported by trucks from the rail head to the truck-loading landings. E. L. Green and Russell Johnson had the details well rvorked out. Mr. Johnson, in addition, had prepared a sheet of notes descriptive of the operations for distribution among the visitors. The company's side bosses, chopping bosses and logging superintendent were on hand to answer questions. This is a tractor-truck-railroad operation, to produce about 85MM feet in 1941. No further extension of the railroad is contemplated, the logs being transported to the rail head by trucks. No steam is used in yarding, all of it being by tractors and diesel yarders for several years. Centralized peeling is in prospect early this summer.

An unexpected visitor on the field trip was Truman Collins, president, Pacific Logging Congress, who has made it a point this year to visit all the regional conferences. Mr. Collins spoke briefly at the Camp 2 lunch and credited the Redwood region with having originated the regional conferences to supplement the annual Pacific Logging Congress.

Annual Dinner

Seventy-seven were seated at the dinner May 23, at

Hotel Windsor in Fort Bragg. William Lawson, logging superintendent, IJnion Lumber Company. was toastmaster. The occasion was used to revive some of the dramatic history of lumbering on the Mendocino Coast. C. E. DeCamp, Caspar Lumber Company, came up from San Francisco with a well prepared and very interesting paper recalling some of the problems of the early-days loggers. His talk was followed by brief remarks by Dana Gray, Clarence Broback, Otis Johnson, George Cornwall and others. When the conference was invited to Fort Bragg an abalone dinner was promised. Dana Grav and Howard Gray more than made good on the promise, having arranged for baked abatone, a form new to most of the guests.

Discussion Session

Saturday, Mav 24, the announced program was followed. K. B. McGuire, Caspar Lumber Company logging superintendent was chairman, stimulating discussion with well placed questions. fnterest was pretty lively, especially on bark peeling, felling breakage and log scaling and grading, indicating these to be topics of major importance.

Centralized Peeling-The discussion was predicated on the inability to market the bark and that, therefore, it must be burned. While there was no unanimity in favor of centralized peeling, it was apparently the general opinion that if centralized peeling costs no less than the traditional peeling "at the stump" there were hidden benfits that were worth money; among those given were less loss due to checking; less bruising during yarding and loading; less debris; fewer accidents to peelers; lower fire hazard; less damage to logs in case of fire; and cleaner logs for the sawmill, with reduced danger to band saws. There was much interest in the effect on trucking costs of hauling with the bark on. Mr. Hess discussed the probable effect on both weight and log diameters for hauling on private and public roads, for long and short hauls. Near the close of the discussion of peeling, and at the suggestion of Otis R. Johnson, the chairman instructed Professor E.

Fritz to solicit further information on peeling during the summer and submit it to the operators.

Falling Breakage-This subject was high lighted by a description of an extensive experiment by Hammond Redwood Company, to determine the benefit from using a bulldozer for preparing layouts. Gray Evans, in charge of the study, stated a bulldozer serves six sets of fallers. The study indicates that for the tract being cut, the extra effort is well repaid by much lessened breakage. fndications are thtrt about 15% more of timber will be saved according to Mr. Evans. This study is not yet completed.

George Allen and Chairman McGuire described how they were reducing breakage of valuable leaners by pulling them over against the lean with the help of a tractor. A line is placed around the tree by a climber, and the rope end is left hanging loose. When a Cat is available, the line is pulled tight around a stump until the tree is plumb, the line being then made fast. When the fallers return they proceed to fall the.tree in the usual way.

Considerable interest was evidenced in reducing breakage and it was pointed out that a higher realizatior'. is obtained per tree and per acre and that debris was reduced. The reduction it was indicated also has the effect of reducing the necessary area to be logged in the course of a year by an amount equivalent to the total timber saved.

Scaling and Log Grading-This topic was programmed because it shows promise of assuming some importance as gyppo logging becomes more common and as selective logging is based more directly on tree value. Since Redwood scaling takes account of defects only by deducting a stated percentage based on experience, the Pine region method of handling defects was introduced for discussion and for its applicability to Redwood. Chester Nicholls, Hammond Redwood Company, who had scaled both Pine and Redwood by this method for the Government, described the scheme by blackboard sketches. He pointed out that Redwood defects are more difficult to aopraise and that the scaler must spend as much time as possible at the sawmill to see how the defects are cut out. In 6MM feet of Redwood scaled for the Indian service, the mill tally overran his log scale by only 4/o.

Log grading was described by Roy Wagner, U. S. Forest Service, who carried the subject on into tree grades and to selection cutting for timber depletion credit on income tax returns. Frank Solinsky III, described a smallscale log grading study he made in timber near Westport in l9,lo. Log grades were established on a basis of the amount of surface-clear length on the four sides of a log. This amount was converted to a percentage of the total possible clear length and this percentage used to establish the log grade. The system is being used this year in grading logs for sale, probably the first time this has been attempted in the Redwoods. Log grading it was pointed out will indicate which trees are not profitable to cut.

Selective Logging-The system of tree selection used by the Union Lumber Companv was described by Russell Johnson. Diameter limit is 2( insid,e bark on the stump. The importance of making an effort to protect reserve trees against damage by tractors and slash fires was pointed out by Emanuel Fritz in discussing the quantity and quality of lumber produced by such trees after liberation. A log section and several boards from trees left by early loggers on the Caspar Lumber Company property were exhibited. They were milled at Caspar and showed that growth after liberation is more rapid and likely to be free from knots if the trees are selected for good form and are not damaged. From the experimental trees tle knot-free lumber totaled 52.5%.

Power Saws-Because power saws are not used in Mendocino County this topic elicited much interest. Chain saws were inquired into as well as a lighter drag saw developed by Hammond Redwood Company, and described by Gray Evans. The frame and cylinder were made of aluminum, taking 5O pounds off the weight.

Fire Weather Forecasting-Unfortunately, Leslie Gray of the U. S. Weather Bureau was detained by official business, so this subject was discussed informally. Importance of forecasts of impending fire weather was noted and arrangements were made with the State Rangers present for the dissemination of the information as it is received from the Weather Bureau. The rangeis will also cooperate in forwarding data from private observers to the Bureau.

Slash DisposalThe Hammond Redwood Company, having undertaken a 20Gacre slash burning experi'ment in late 194O, Chester O. Nicholls was called on to describe it. After the slash was so well wetted down by fall rains that it would not support a running fire, the heaviest piles, still dry beneath, were fired along the ridges. Then piles lower down the slopes were set off until the gulch bottoms were reached. When, after some drying out, the lighter piles would burn, they too were touched off. A clean burn was obtained with fewer trees scorched.