The team at Richardson Ranch is dedicated to preserving California’s splendid natural landscape. We ensure our forests will continue to flourish by employing the best practices methods for sustainable forestry while continuing to adapt to the latest industry practices.
Our forestry management efforts include clearing brush to ensure that our beautiful trees grow healthier with a reduced risk of fire. While some people may think of forestry as harmful to the environment, at Richardson Ranch, we strive to achieve precisely the opposite.
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Following in our founder’s footsteps, our team has dedicated ourselves to preserving the longevity of our coastal redwoods by only removing trees that are no longer viable, and by replanting trees to replace the ones that we have cleared.
Our efforts are led by Dan Falk, a Registered Professional Forester (RPF) Herbert’s great-grandson, and Harold’s Grand Nephew. Dan and his crews follow rigorous measures to protect Richardson Ranch and California’s fragile environment, including recognizing and protecting threatened species like the California Spotted Owl, and the marbled murrelet.
According to Dan, “The majority of the trees we fall are beetled and therefore dying, by removing these trees, we reduce the threat of surrounding vegetation becoming infested. Our efforts ensure that our forests continue to thrive by supporting ecological processes that benefit our woodland environments.”
In 2019 RR planted more than 75,000 Redwood Trees and more than 60,000 trees in 2020 harvest areas.
In 2009 our devotion to forestry management garnered the attention of Save the Redwoods League, a nonprofit organization striving to protect and restore California coastal redwoods. Working together, we recognized the need to protect our woodland areas indefinitely. Our team agreed on an arrangement that secured 738 acres of the grove for the organization, which included the world’s largest swath of old-growth redwoods.
A little history of our forestry in action
Richardson Ranch has been working on California conservatorship and restoration through sustainable forestry for over 140 years, beginning with our founder Herbert Archer Richardson in the 1870s.
Herbert moved from New Hampshire with two dollars in his pocket, and over the years, he worked tirelessly, acquiring over 50,000 acres of Sonoma County forestland at the peak of his career. The demand for his lumber was so high; he invested in a railroad and several ships to transport his supply from the forests of Stewarts Point to the rolling hills of San Francisco.
In a time when over-harvesting was prevalent with other timber mills, Herbert maintained the natural splendor of his land by leaving old-growth trees untouched and only removing the dying trees.
While not easy to part with the acres of forest donated to the conservancy project, the opportunity to have the land preserved by prominent conservationists was essential to our family’s legacy and our passion for maintaining the land for future generations.