Tree Growing

Tree Growing

Growing More Wood on Less Land 

Sustainable forestry 

The demand for renewable forest products continues to grow, but the amount of forest land available to grow them does not. 

For more than 45 years, we've been studying which local trees grow best in our forests. By planting seedlings from trees with traits for growth, health, and resilience—and by tending to them as they mature—we can grow more wood on less land. 

Follow the journey of a seedling to see how science, innovation, and long-term thinking make that possible. 

Journey of a seedling

The result?  

4X the wood. Same piece of ground. 

Our wood supply will continue to increase in the coming decades—not by adding land to harvest, but by growing more from every acre. Better trees, proven science, careful tending. 

Four times the wood per acre compared to natural regeneration. That means less ground needed for harvest. More forest left standing for conservation, wildlife, trails. 

And a secure and growing wood supply for our customers and our communities. 

It's not flashy. But it's how you grow a sustainable forest that does more, without asking more of the land. 

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Using every part of the tree

Eliminating waste 

The forest gives a lot.  We make sure we use it well.   
 
Every part of every tree gets put to good use.  Lumber is the most visible product, but the residuals like woodchips and bark help make products from paper, to tissue, to renewable energy.  

It's how our forest supply chain runs. What can't be used one way, finds another—that’s sustainability. 

What each part becomes

Logs to Lumber

Logs to Lumber

The best wood goes to our sawmills, where straight, strong logs become the lumber that frames homes and supports buildings for generations. 

Woodchips to Tissue

Woodchips to Tissue

Parts not suitable for lumber and sawmilling pieces become woodchips, which are processed to make final products like paper and tissue.

Sawdust to Pellets

Sawdust to Pellets

Leftover sawdust and shavings are turned into high-quality wood pellets, which are used for low carbon heat and power generation, replacing fossil fuels like coal and oil.

Shavings to Bedding

Shavings to Bedding

Wood shavings also become animal bedding on farms—a simple, practical use for a material some may overlook at the sawmill.

Bark to Energy

Bark to Energy

The bark is used in biomass boilers to produce heat and renewable energy that powers our mills and reduces our fossil fuel use.

Hardwood Chips to Cardboard

Hardwood Chips to Cardboard

And hardwood chips become high-quality corrugating medium—the sturdy material used in cardboard boxes and packaging.

Since 1882 

Committed to Sustainable Forestry 

That's how it works. Seed to forest to product. 

Decades of research and learning what grows best here. Nothing wasted. A forest that keeps growing and giving because people keep taking care of it. 

We've been at this for more than 140 years. The forest we manage today is for the generation that comes next. 

Peter Davison

“It’s about growing more than we harvest and talking care of the place you call home. Because the forest I’m working in today is for my grandkids.”

Peter Davison Forester