Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the number of acres replanted, and clarify the scope of the damage caused by the 2021 Dixie Fire.
Timber is a major economic force in Plumas County. Though harvest volumes no longer approach the heights of the 1980s, wood manufacturing remains the largest industry in the county, and offers one of the highest average wages, according to the Sierra Small Business Council’s 2023-2027 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. Collins Pine Co., which operates a sawmill in Chester and manages 135,000 acres in and around Plumas County, is among the county’s largest employers. It is also one of the oldest, having remained in operation for over 80 years. The organization attributes its lasting success in part to its uneven-aged forest management style, which focuses on long-term sustainability.
Uneven aged timber harvest
The theory behind uneven-aged logging is a simple one: Live on the interest, don’t dip into the principal, said Eric O’Kelley, forest manager for Collins Pine. O’Kelley is responsible for supplying wood to the mill, which involves managing the company’s 95,000-acre Collins Almanor Forest, plus an additional 40,000 acres recently purchased near Westwood. He also oversees outside purchases of timber from other sources, like the federal government and private landholders.
In uneven-age management, foresters selectively remove trees from stands, balancing the short-term needs of the mill’s production against the long-term health of the living investment. The goal is to ensure a lasting sustainable timber harvest. Loggers focus on harvesting the “lame, sick, and diseased trees,” O’Kelley explained, providing the space and resources for the others to flourish.
“The best feeling is when you’re taking out trees that are weak, giving the mill a good product, but still improving the stand,” he said. “For us it’s a cycle. We’re typically on the same ground every 15 to 20 years.”
It’s this approach to forest management that has earned Collins Almanor Forest its Forest Stewardship Council certification, the first awarded to a North American forest manager. And it’s the model Collins Pine was founded on in 1942. Founder Truman W. Collins was a third-generation lumberman and heir to a timber and milling business in Pennsylvania and the Pacific Northwest. Early in his career, Collins experienced what happens when a timber company runs out of trees to harvest; it gave him the idea for a long-term sustainably managed forest. When in 1940 he inherited 76,800 acres near Chester, purchased by his grandfather in 1902 but never developed, he put his ideas into action.
“The best feeling is when you’re taking out trees that are weak, giving the mill a good product, but still improving the stand.”
Eric O’Kelley, forest manager
One key component was trucking. Previously, railroads were used to transport logs—significant infrastructure that required plenty of open space and large harvests in order to generate profit. Logging by rail favored clearcutting. By the 1940s smaller, cheaper, and more maneuverable logging trucks allowed for lower volumes and quick transport to mills.
Today, Collins is one of the only uneven-aged privately-held companies in existence, said former operations manager Murray Caton. The mill produces between 80 to 100 million board feet per year and employs 122 staff members. It is part of a portfolio that includes five facilities producing softwoods in the West, and hardwoods in Pennsylvania. Plumas lumber “goes all over the place,” Caton said. It is shipped as far away as Japan. While in the early years the business operated on a vertically integrated tree-to-store model, today Collins focuses on the logging and milling part of the business. Although Collins lumber is still sold directly at the builder supply in Chester, most is distributed wholesale.
Dixie Fire forces Collins to pivot
“The Dixie Fire was a massive impact on the business,” said Caton. About 60,000 acres – more than half of the Collins Almanor Forest – were directly in the footprint of the fire. Approximately 29-30,000 acres were deemed too damaged to harvest; the remaining burned acreage still had trees with potential value as lumber.
After a fire, damaged logs must be processed as soon as possible. Once burned, trees are susceptible to insects and blue stain, and the quality degrades rapidly. Within about two years, with some variability for species, aspect and condition, lumber is no longer considered viable.
“You come to some grim realities quickly,” Caton said.
The Collins team realized they weren’t going to be able to harvest all the potentially viable lumber from the burn scar in time. So they inverted their usual process to maximize the amount of usable timber salvaged from the fire. They started with the forest closest to the facility, focusing their efforts on the flattest ground, with the easiest access, and harvested the best-quality timber remaining, in the largest quantities, as fast as possible—before it all went to waste.
“You come to some grim realities quickly.”
Murray Caton, former operations manager
Technological advancement increases efficiency, safety
Logging has become highly mechanized, especially in the past 25 years, with less direct human interaction with machines, Caton said. In the field, about 80% of logs are harvested using mechanical sides, though due to their selectivity Collins still employs some hand fallers. The smaller trees can also be limbed by machine. Technological advances are evident at the milling facility as well. Recent additions include a sawmill stacker that can stack random widths, and a grade expert tool that assesses lumber value using AI.
“The more we can improve production the more competitive we are in the marketplace,” said Caton.
Though logging is still among the most dangerous professions, during his 30-year career,Caton has observed significant safety improvements. This autumn the Chester facility passed a safety milestone for the first time: over a year with no workplace accidents.
Meeting modern challenges
One of the biggest challenges in running Collins Pine is staffing, said Caton. The Chester facility used to employ 500 people, and it is constantly hiring. “There are always opportunities to walk in off the street and have a career,” Caton said. These are good jobs with benefits, a set schedule, and competitive wages, he emphasized — but finding people to take them isn’t easy. Caton said he would gladly have added a third shift to process the Dixie logs if possible.
Managing the forest in the face of rising wildfire danger and global warming poses other challenges. One of the benefits of the selective management approach is the minimal cost of reforestation, O’Kelley said. Dixie has changed that. His seven-member resource team now plants a million or more trees a year — up from an average of about 30,000. As of this autumn, the team has replanted about 6,000 acres, with another 5,000 acres cleared in preparation for planting in the spring of 2025. Within seven or eight years, he expects all major sections of the Dixie Fire burn scar will be covered by young trees.
Reforestation can be risky from a business perspective, since it is “all cost out,” with no income potential for 30 or more years. The team aims to mitigate some of that risk, making stands safer and more resilient by planting at a lower-density, and selecting a higher percentage of drought-resistant sun-loving trees, like ponderosa pine. “The forest will tell you what will grow,” said O’Kelley.
Healthy forests, robust rural communities, and thriving local businesses all go together, Caton said. For over 80 years, Collins Pine in Chester has helped to support all three — cultivating healthy stands, creating middle-class jobs, and taking an active role in the local community through development projects. It’s an example that could be replicated, he said.
