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The People:
Many of our products are harvested by a group of people who are hard working and very independent. They take pride in the products they harvest and always search for the best products available. This often means driving many miles over treacherous logging roads to find that premium quality product'.
Note: All harvesters must be in possession of either a "permit" from the Forest Service or a permission letter from private land owners and must obey the laws while in the National Forest; which include no use of power tools!
While there is a great variety of products in the forests, most of the harvesters specialize in one or just a few products. However, there are a few harvesters with a great deal of experience who know where to find and how to harvest all kinds of products. Most of the people in this profession enjoy it because of the independence it affords them; working outdoors with no boss and no time clock to punch!
The Products:
There are many different special forest products that are harvested in our forests. Two of the largest non-lumber industries are mushrooms and floral products. The mushrooms harvested in this area include Matsutaki, Morrels and Lobster, to name a few. The list of floral products is extensive, but the major products include Port Orford Cedar, Salal, Bear Grass, Ferns, Chinqapin, Myrtle and more....
Although there are tremendous quantities of each product in the forest, harvesters typically find less than 1 to 5% of a plant species is suitable to harvest for floral use. Unlike harvesting for lumber, where the whole tree is cut, when boughs are harvested for floral use the plant is not harmed. In fact, most plants grow more vigorously once they have been pruned.
The Forests:The forests extend from the coast through the Siskiyou National Forest and includes the Kalmiopsis Wilderness area, the site of the largest forest fire in Oregon history- The Biscuit Fire of 2002 burned 500,000 acres of forest! The major land owner is the US Forest Service and BLM. There are a wide variety of of forest types ranging from temperate rain forest to sub alpine. Conifers dominate most of the forest but the understory varies considerably with soil type and altitude. Soils vary from rich humus to serpentine.
