- Mendocino Redwood Company
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Mendocino Redwood Company
(MRC)Type Limited liability company Industry forest management, logging Founded July 1998 Headquarters near Ukiah, California, USA Key people Sandy Dean (Chairman and CEO); Jim Holmes (President) Products forest products Owner(s) Fisher Family of San Francisco, others Employees 23 Parent Sansome Partners, L.P Website www.mrc.com The Mendocino Redwood Company, officially abbreviated as MRC, is a California based forest products company. With holdings of over 228,800 acres (926 km2), primarily in Mendocino County,[1] this relatively new timber company owns and manages ten percent of the county's private land.[2] Founded in 1998, the company is mostly owned by the Fisher Family, founders of Gap Clothing.
Following a July 29, 2008 "Final Order" order from the US Bankruptcy Judge Richard Schmidt, the way cleared for MRC to take control of the once storied, then vilified, and, finally, bankrupt Pacific Lumber Company in Humboldt County, California from Maxxam Inc. of Texas. The final dispensation of the bankruptcy, ongoing since January 2007 began the transfer of PALCO's giant buildings, mill, and 210,000 acres (850 km2) of Humboldt forest to MRC. The company town of Scotia and other properties are being transferred to Marathon Structured Finance.[3] The consolidation of Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO) and subsidiaries is under the new name of Humboldt Redwood Company, which began operations ostensibly with a more conservative harvesting model that eliminates clearcutting and most old-growth redwood cutting.[4]
Notes
- ^ MRC, Official Website, URL retrieved July 24, 2008.
- ^ Forest Management and Stump-to-Forest Gate Chain-of-Custody Certification Evaluation Report for the: Mendocino Redwood Company: Public Summary and Background Information General Information, Environmental Context, URL retrieved July 24, 2008.
- ^ The Eureka Reporter, Appellate court rules in favor of Mendocino Redwood Co., URL retrieved July 25, 2008
- ^ Nonetheless, the harvesting practices and environmental philosophy of the company are barely different than the last refinements of the now bankrupt Palco operations which they have taken over. Most of the corporate ownership is new to redwood operations in general and lacks the foresight essential to achieve both the economical and efficient operations of a sustainable redwood products company and balance the harvesting of this scarce and valuable resource in a manner that preserves the heritage of the forest for future generations to enjoy. A harvest program that defends a cut of trees that are 250 years old or less simply because the natural life of these magnificent redwood trees can reach 2000 years is misgiven. In the context of the age of trees harvested in the region, Old Growth Douglas Fir is much less than 200 years. Since that standard applies to the term Old Growth, it should also be applied to redwood as well. The Fisher family reports its intentions to preserve the redwood resources however, logging practices that allow the cut of redwood trees older than 120 years corrupts the term Old Growth. There are no products being sawn from redwood trees that are 120 years or older than cannot be fabricated just as well from redwood trees that are substantially less than 120 years of age. No logs being harvested today will ever achieve the Old Growth standard in view of the heavily over cut resource and the lack of sufficient reforestation practices. Tens of thousands of acres of former redwood forests could be reforested today by the MRC organization once a firm and fixed policy is adopted. Today there are fabrication technologies that will allow for the maximization of the production of redwood products with attractive cosmetic appearance of redwood in millwork, and conventionally used decking and siding products through the use of redwood veneers on the face with core material of other second growth species such as spruce and other white woods found in the immediate area. The executive management of MRC is not exploring the eventual use of those technologies to extend the life of the balance of the redwood forest not included in harvest plans. The only conclusion is that for expediency, the same old harvest and fabrication practices still reside in MRC that were once deeply ingrained in Palco. The main issue that environmental organizations will need to recognize is that today the company's executive and operational management fully lacks the long term expertise in fabrication and marketing redwood products in a manner that offers sustainable practices and preservation of the forest. Furthermore, despite the Fisher family's pronouncements to the contrary little has changed from Maxxam times. It The Eureka Reporter,Palco Transitions to new company. July 29, 2008 URL retrieved Sept.17, 2008
External links
Categories:- Forest products companies of the United States
- Companies based in Mendocino County, California
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