STEVENSON LAND COMPANY owns and manages 100,000 acres of timberland in Washington and Oregon.
STEVENSON LAND COMPANY manages its timberlands with the objective of producing high quality wood from our forests. As long as forests are managed responsibly and for the long term, wood consumption should be encouraged and a renewable, green resource. The benefits and uses of wood are numerous. Besides being aesthetically pleasing, wood is the only building material that is renewable, recyclable and biodegradable. Working forests provide habitat for various species of plants and wildlife, they protect watersheds, they emit oxygen into the atmosphere and consume carbon dioxide, and they provide beautiful spaces for recreation. In order to protect the long- term health of both our forests and business, we manage our forests on a sustainable yield basis. This means we harvest and replant at rates that ensure the availability of wood and wood products for future generations.
STEVENSON LAND COMPANY forestlands are comprised primarily of second growth Douglas Firs, Ponderosa Pine and Grand Fir. We reforest 100% with these native species to preserve our unique biodiversity. Before a forest stand reaches maturity, we often perform an intermediate harvest, also known as a commercial thinning. This involves strategically harvesting specific trees in order to give the remaining trees more space and light to grow. Thinning a forest maximizes growth and wood volume. Once a forest stand reaches maturity, anywhere between 50-70 years in age and 20-30 inches in diameter, the stand is harvested using even aged harvesting methods known as clear cuts, or uneven aged harvesting methods known as partial cuts. Seedlings are planted the same year or following spring, ensuring that the next growing cycle begins quickly. As a rule of thumb, we plant 360 seedlings per acre, or 3 trees for every 1 tree that is harvested.