I began work at the LP Ukiah Mill out of survive. My job was to keep the chippers running. The LP Ukiah Mill is a linear production line. Hence any stoppage or breakdown at one point results in the entire mill stopping. All "waste", non dimensional lumber and cutoffs are sent under the mill via massive vibrating conveyors into one of two chippers. These chippers can consume a one foot diameter log twenty feet long in a second or two.
During my month or so under the mill I saw more useable lumber destroyed than my three years of new construction and remodeling. This lumber could have been reprocessed into smaller dimentions or given away as a charitable tax deductible donation for repairs and additions to the needy, which includes our schools. This was very usable material, some better than lumber I have purchased and used accross the country. Evidently it was not good enough for LP standards.
The shift objective was 200,000 BF per eight hour shift. There was no time or manpower available to rescue this lumber, nor was the mill designed to accommodate the resawing of a viable product. Could this be a simple design flaw or part of a corporate master plan?
Speed is the goal. Cut as many dead Redwood trees as possible during the shift. Then sort and process the dimenisional lumber and SHRED the evidence of a wasteful computer operated redwood slaughterhouse.
This modern computer operated saw mill breaks down regularly during any given shift, causing more waste as potential lumber is chainsawed and broken in the name of "get the mill up and running". As a result, the mill is speeded up to reach the production goal and more jams and break downs occur, resulting in more "waste" sent to be chipped. The cries that were heard: "keep the mill running", "don't worry we use everything", "if it's not lumber we chip it and process it into plywood". Is this old growth redwood plywood?
A good amount of this chipped 'product' could have been recut into smaller lumber such as lattice and shorter lengths, three to four feet 2"x 6" and 2"x 8", would be suitable for planter boxes and other uses.
This poorly designed mill not only sends non-dimensional lumber to be chipped but Mr. Computer sends good dimensional lumber to be chipped.
The evidence of poor resource management is SHREDDED, the same tenique which corporate Americia uses to destroy potentially damaging documents.
Let me return to the survival of Jon. I must thank LP and the MAXXAM Corp. If not for their greed and total disregard for getting the most lumber out of each dead redwood tree I would still be a relatively passive environmentalist, only recycling, gardening, and composting. I have begun my process of becoming an ACTIVEist. Thank you all for being patient with me.
In addition, please do not condemn others who have not become enlightened, and continue to work at the mill. Instead pray for their enlightenment and take what steps you can to provide decent paying jobs and contribute whatever resourses you can afford to help change the timber practices to "sustainable yeild forestry practices." These are hard working, honest folks, who only want to provide for their families, as do we all.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1997
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited