An Analysis of Wood Losses in Redwood Logging

A detailed study was made on a 29-acre virgin redwood stand in Humboldt County, California, of the efficiency of the logging operation in terms of lumber recovered from the total volume of wood available. Natural losses such as rot, hollow butts, rift cracks, and shake reduced the gross scale of the felled redwood by 10 percent. Operating losses from felling through loading on cars reduced the remaining net scale by 30 percent. Only 70 percent of the original net merchantable log scale reached the mill. Most of the operating losses were due to breakage in the felling operation. Contributing factors are the great height and mass of the larger trees, the steep ground, and the relative softness of the redwood. The above mentioned losses do not include the volumes of tops and limbs nor the volume of the smaller trees pulled down during yarding. After burning the cut over land the sound wood left after logging was measured on a small part of the study area. This material, suitable for conversion into fiber products, amounted to 96.6 cords per acre. The volume of bark was estimated to be 23.6 cords per. acre. It is believed that the use of tractors instead of the slack line and high lead system will save the unmerchantable trees.

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