Utilizing Local Forest Resources

Beginning in 1980, I returned to the USA and settled near Santa Cruz, California on 16 forested acres. The California forest resembled the Cryptomeria forests of Japan, with tall conifers covering 80 percent of the land. It was only natural that I would discover and utilize the local forest resources in my work. During the 1970’s in Japan I had been taught how to select specific trees from the forest reserves and how to

By closely observing the local ecology I became aware of how important the co-evolution of the redwood forests with a human-induced fire regime had been in forming the local forest as we knew it, and the importance of understanding the relationship between this forest ecology and our desire to create and sustain healthy forests.

Focus on nurturing healthy forests brought me to the awareness that, at least for our local resource, it was important to begin “gleaning” overcrowded trees to create natural diversity within the forest. This approach broadened to include the process of "restoration forestry" which analyzes evidence from ancient stumps to help reconstruct the historic density of the forest canopy. This process of selectively opening small windows in the forest canopy helps encourage more diversity on the forest floor, and has encouraged such trees as Tan Bark Oak, Maul Oak and Madrone to become more vibrant in the increased sunlight.

Historically, North American foresters have selected the largest, healthy, straight trees for harvest, leaving the misshapen and small diameter trees behind. This practice of superior selection is the most profitable for the timber mills, but has slowly degraded the remaining forest lands. Our local approach has been to expand on Japanese forestry principles where gleaning misshapen trees from healthy forests provide strong arching forms. Over the past twenty-five years the process has begun to have an obvious effect on the forest. Integrating the harvests into timber frame designs has become our method of sustaining the cost of labor intensive forest restoration.

The finished house is more than just a product of the forest, it is a reflection of the forest, with natural shapes woven into the finished room interiors. It is also an attempt to design structures which will last for multiple generations. Buildings where the finished product suggests a long term commitment to sustainability have unique personalities, and a rich mixture of sculptural forms and open space.

In order to make this vision a reality, the importance of maintaining an active training program for local carpenters, with an emphasis on forest restoration training led in 2001 to the establishment of a forestry apprenticeship program in Bonny Doon, California.
Traditional hand craftsmenship skills are taught using adzes, and hand planes for mortice and tenon joinery. Many traditional textures are employed to create the hand-hewn post and beam timbers. Careful attention to the forest season allows us to harvest trees during the short bark peeling season, when the finished beams can be polished smooth and left completely natural. As trees age and die naturally they are harvested, and most of their branches are chipped into mulch to be re-distributed on the forest floor. Low impact trails are maintained by using skid-sleds to transport beams out of the forest, eliminating the use of tractors and heavy equipment.

Outreach to the community takes the form of hosting local elementary school field trips each year and involving area landowners in the process of selective harvests, with the support of the local watershed association.