How we select trees for harvest

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The term "selective harvest" is thrown around pretty loosely these days. Most of the time it means entering the forest to cut the best and  most valuable trees of a few species and leave the rest, leaving the forest "downgraded". Not at Rajala Forestry and MTM.

Rajala Forestry is building on 5 generations of Great North Woods experience  to develop the practice of Ecological Forestry in the private sector.   We put it into practice every day. Our harvests are carefully planned to mimic the frequency and scale of natural ecological disturbances;  specifically wind, fire, precipitation, native insects, and native diseases.

Natural disturbances simply do not result in the loss of the biggest and best trees.  Natural disturbances result in the random and intentional (yes, Nature is intentional) loss of a full variety of tree sizes, species, and qualities. The cycle of life and new growth then begins again. The scale of natural  disturbances range from a fraction of an acre completely flattened to an entire stand of greater size with patches and individual trees remaining.  Mimicking natural disturbance leads Rajala Forestry to harvest the trees that follow this natural pattern.

John  Rajala, our Leader, has spent a lifetime finding the balance between  Ecological Forestry and the manufacturing of High Quality Wood Products  from not just the best trees, but rather the natural trees. Most of  our biggest trees are left to grow to a natural old age (200 to 600 years depending on species) and then left after that to decay for hundreds of years more, providing incredible ecological value the entire  time. When we say we have a 500 Year Plan, we mean it.  

There  is one word that describes this unique effort, and it's the word that sets us apart: AUTHENTICITY. Easy word to say. Hard word to live by.