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Only 3% of Trees at 24" Diameter or Greater: An Allegation
(Revised 7/5/2002)
The statistics quoting that only 3% of MRC lands are in trees 24" or greater is misleading - it is based on a "Quadratic Mean Diameter" average to determine habitat classes (WHR technical discussion) which is not indicative of the diameter distribution of trees in the forests. MRC determines forest structure using Landscape Planning. The forest structure classes determined from field sampling information indicate that approximately 8% of MRC lands have forest conditions with trees 24" or greater as the dominant vegetation on the land. Trees 24" and greater are found distributed throughout other forested stands on MRC lands. The facts are that MRC has a total conifer (redwood and Doug-fir) inventory of 2.4 Billion board feet, of which 1.1 Billion board feet are found in trees with greater than 24" diameter. Regardless, MRC is harvesting in such a manner to improve the distribution of larger trees, especially redwood, across the landscape.
Also see: Forest Structure Classification
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