Southern Oregon, Northeast California
The Collins Lakeview Forest is 112,000 acres of FSC®-certified forestland, expanding from Lake County, Oregon to Modoc County, California. The Oregon acreage is the largest block of forestland to be FSC®-certified in the state. The Collins Lakeview Forest is managed on an uneven-aged, sustained yield basis.
Collins Lakeview Forest (CLF) timberlands are managed for sustained yield of high quality forest products consistent with a high level of societal, economic and environmental integrity.
Our objectives for CLF are:
The management of the privately held Collins Lakeview Forest is based on the stewardship ethics and principles of the Collins Pine Company and the Collins family. This ethic is based upon a commitment to the health of the total forest ecosystem based upon adopted scientific and sustainable forestry and production practices. The production of wood will be only on a sustained, renewable basis; and provide social and economic benefits to the surrounding areas and communities.
Forest Description
These lands are characterized as an eastside pine type. The growing climate is characterized by a short growing season and minimal summer precipitation. Average annual precipitation is about 20 inches, with much of it falling as winter snow. Diurnal summer temperatures fluctuate widely, with hot days and cold nights. In many areas, frost may occur any night of the year. The months of July, August and September are very dry, with rainfall averaging less than 0.5 inches. Much of the summer rain is lost to evaporation with little reaching the soil, as it usually comes during brief, high-intensity convection storms. Winter temperatures are generally low; as a result, snow often accumulates to considerable depths.
Logging, bark beetles, root diseases and fire are the major disturbances in the eastside pine type. The understory plant communities typically increase following disturbance, depending on the nature of the disturbance, season in which it occurred and weather inputs. In general, disturbance favors brush and grasses, particularly ceanothus species. High intensity fire disturbance may eliminate antelope bitterbrush and mountain mahogany, a desirable deer forage plant that may not be as robust a competitor with trees as are some other shrubs. Open tree stands generally support more vigorous brush or grass understories which may prevent additional tree regeneration for many years. Fire tends to maintain pine stands on sites that will support other conifers. The following understory dominants may be used to identify different eastside pine communities: western juniper, manzanita, several species of ceanothus, big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, grass dominance and forb dominance.
The main plant association in this area is the Pinus ponderosa/Purshia tridentata association which has a Purshia sp. dominated shrub layer superimposed on a variety of perennial grasses including Festuca idahoensis, Caespitose agropyron spicatum, Stipa comata and Aristida longiseta. In some stands, forbs such as Balsamorhiza sagittata and Erigeron compositus are abundant.
Eastside pine is moderately slow growing and long-lived ecosystem. The time required for succession varies greatly depending on site, competition and seed source. The more severe sites within the system impose problems of reproduction and competition, so that stands may not necessarily reproduce after disturbance, being replaced instead by forbs, grasses and brush species.
The soils in this area includes areas of immature Regosolic soils. These Vitrandepts are developed in deposits of dacitic and rhyolitic pumice erupted from Mount Mazama (Crater Lake) and Newberry Crater, respectively. The thin A horizon have moderate to low organic matter content and grade into relatively un-weathered pumice sand and gravel. A finer texture buried soil is generally encountered at 0.5 to 3 meters.
The predominant commercial species on the lands are ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and white fir (Abies concolor) with minor amounts of sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), western white pine (Pinus monticola), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens). Non-Commercial tree species include aspen (Populus tremuloides) and western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis). Brush species include minor amounts of Klamath plum (Prunus subcordata), snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinus), squawcarpet (Ceanothus prostratus), mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolus), big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and gray rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus).
The below references a table that can be viewed on page 5 of the 2025 Public Summary of the Collins Lakeview Forest Public Summary of Management Plan.
The majority of the adjacent landownership is federal, primarily managed by the USDA Forest Service.
The Modoc, GLT, FLC and “other” tracts were impacted by stand forest replacing wildfire in 2008, 2012 and 2021.
Silvicultural Methods
The management tracts which comprise the CLF lands in southeast Oregon and northeast California vary in their structure and composition. While similar in that all three are associated with the eastside pine type, each have very distinct characteristics. These characteristics have developed over time based largely on harvest practices of prior owners, natural occurrences such as fire, fire suppression and climatic events such as prolonged drought. No single vegetation management method or silvicultural system is applied to our lands on a broad landscape level. The management emphasis is through the use of uneven-age silviculture to promote sustainability and health of our forest resources. Even-age systems utilized consistent with restoration and sustainability.
Selection silviculture is employed throughout the ownership. Selection is where the trees are removed either as single trees or small groups if necessary to ensure that trees of specific species or age classes are free to grow. This silvicultural practice is employed on the majority of the ground. The objective is to modify tree densities sufficiently to maintain growth, yield, species composition and fire resilience. Stands range in basal area between 30 and 150 ft2 acre. Growth data taken from across the ownership, as well as growth information included in the Fremont-Winema National Forest’s Forest Plan is basis for this basal area range. By managing stands in this density, the canopy will be opened up for light to infiltrate to the forest floor, favoring shade intolerant pine species, reduce the competition for water (the most limiting resource in this area) and allocate growth to the remaining trees or a regeneration cohort.
Post wildfire forest restoration requires stands to be reestablished with conifers from a local native seed source. Restoration sites are treated to control noxious weed and competitive vegetation prior to planting seedlings. Seedling are established at densities and species composition sufficient to meet biologic, hydrologic and commercial goals of the landowners.
Through professional consultation Collins has adopted a post-wildfire strategy to ensure snags, down wood structure and habitat retention areas are maintained across these landscapes. These retained features assist in bridging biological needs as the new forest is established and developing.
Fire suppression over the past century and some past harvest practices has promoted, in general, a condition in which two or three cohorts exist on much of the land base. Additionally, many stands have upwards of 500 trees per acre of small trees. Along with this heavily stocked condition, establishment of the shade tolerant white fir has been prolific. Stands which were once predominately ponderosa pine are now equally mixed and sometimes over-run by white fir. White fir, while being shade tolerant, is not drought tolerant and therefore extremely susceptible to mortality brought about by stress related to drought and the ensuing fir engraver beetle (Scolytus ventralis) infestations. These biotic and abiotic conditions can impact a wide and many times different range of age and size classes. Because of this, uneven-age management systems give a better tool to manage for a diversity of size and age classes, as well as to better promote healthy, vigorous stands by harvesting individual trees or groups of diseased or stagnant trees.
Very few of the stand on the forest are classified as all-aged in which three or more well-defined age classes are represented and mixed throughout the lands. More commonly, uneven-age stands fall into two general categories, Irregular and uneven-age.
The irregular stands the structure is composed of small and irregular groups of more or less even-aged stands and dispersed dominant cohorts. These stands, ranging from 10 to 60 acres in size, with the largest tree density being represented by a single age class. Trees tend to occur in up to one-acre clumps composed of one to three age classes. These groups are not often clearly separated and sometimes intermixed.
The uneven-age category is one in which a mosaic patterns of easily distinguishable uneven-age cohorts exist. Over areas as large as 100 acres, all age classes and sizes are well represented, but the trees mainly grow in even-aged clumps.
The region is faced with stochastic natural regeneration in ponderosa pine species, as well as a marked deficit in some diameter classes and surplus in others. When combined with the climatic fluctuations, insect infestations and diseases that are encountered, uneven-age silviculture is the regime employed for creating and maintaining drought adapted eastside pine forests. This will be accomplished through selection, intermediate and/or variable retention silviculture. Planting within the stands to meet species and stocking goals may require the use of mechanical or chemical preparation of the stand to ensure regeneration.
Growth & Yield
Growth and yield of the forest is calculated using distance dependent growth model and regional site production equations. The forest growth and yield software models the growth of the forest out at any time period to estimate inventory. The model allows silvicultural regimes that are consistent with our management to be applied which determines what the annual harvest will be over the time projection period.
Stands are inventoried after harvesting, this information is then used to update the inventory. Optionally, additional cruise plots can be taken in unharvested stands to continually update the forest inventory.
Wildlife
Our wildlife management goals strive for species richness. This implies maintaining habitats that will support viable populations of all the species native to the management unit, as well as those of desirable introduced species. Since there is the potential of several hundred wildlife species within a single forest management unit, addressing the individual habitat needs of all on every acre is impractical. Therefore, some procedure is necessary to meet the management objective in a practical manner. To do this, the assumption must be made that meeting the habitat requirements of a small number of carefully selected species. Indicator species are those having a narrow range of ecological tolerance, the presence of these species and relative abundance serve as a barometer of ecological conditions. Managing indicator species will ensure meeting the habitat requirements for the remaining species.
Through consultation with federal, state and staff wildlife biologists, a mix of early and late forest succession habitat will be maintained to ensure the proper components of habitat for species selected for management required to maintain a viable population. Management of special and unique habitat features, including riparian zones, old growth timber, snags, dead and down woody material, cliffs, caves, talus and managed road use provide species richness, and emphasize habitat conditions for a single or several species.
Harvesting
Most of the terrain within the ownership lends itself well to mechanized ground-based harvesting equipment. Benefits derived from mechanical harvesting are cost savings and reduction fuel loading. The cost efficiency comes from the ability of the feller buncher to bunch the felled trees into piles or turns of logs, to be taken to the landing. Additionally, benefits derived from mechanization are the reduction of exposure and increasing safety to the workers on the ground to falling trees or flying debris in the felling process.
Roads
All the forest has been actively managed for over 50 years; the ownership contains road that were constructed to facilitate harvesting and fire suppression activities. Roads and associated watercourse crossing are evaluated for maintenance prior to management activities. Inspections, maintenance and improvements sustain the transportation system in proper working order.
Snag Management
Dying, dead and down trees are important components of forest ecosystems, because during the process of death and decay they are inhabited by an extraordinarily diverse succession of organisms ranging from woodpeckers and other cavity-users, to myriad invertebrates, fungi, and microorganisms. Not only are dead trees critical microhabitats for many species, but they are also large reservoirs of organic matter and hence play a role in nutrient cycling. There are alternatives, such as killing trees to meet immediate needs, or providing nest boxes, but allowing a few large, old trees to die naturally is preferable under most circumstances.
Habitat conditions for viable populations of snag-dependent species will be provided by meeting the snag requirement targets of 1.5 snags per 20 acres with DBH of 15” to 24” and 0.5 snags per 40 acres with DBH > 24”.
As dictated by natural diversity, snag requirements cannot be met on every acre. To the extent possible, the area of accountability will be the timber stand; all forested lands within each stand will be used to assess average snag densities.
Cultural & Historical Resources
The Forest Manager and some staff are trained and certified as Cultural Resource Surveyors by the State of California. Although Oregon has no requirements through the Forest Practice Rules to survey for cultural sites, requirements are exceeded by applying the same survey approach across the ownership prior to operations.
Durning management unit reconnaissance and layout, the protocols learned through the California cultural survey training in archaeological identification will be employed. Cultural sites discovered on CLF lands will be evaluated for significance. Significance will be determined as containing important research information, uniqueness, associated with important people or event or has cultural/religious importance to Native Americans.
If a significant site is found during the preparation of a treatment unit, or during active operations, protection mitigation for a site will be through avoidance.
Cultural site location and information will be maintained as Confidential.
Recreation
Collins Lakeview Forest is closed to public use. This closure is due to wildfire losses, risk to restoration activities and damage to infrastructure and natural resources. Periods of public access, locations and authorized activities will be updated on the Collins website.
Research
Collins has and will continue to support research on various aspects of forest ecosystem and management. In the past we have participated in federal and state projects across the ownership. This participation maintains lines of communication between Collins and the research community as well as providing managers with up-to-date information which influences the overall management of the forest lands.
Some of the research projects that have been carried out on CLF lands are:
Contract Labor Policy
It is the policy of Collins to treat all contract labor organizations equally in accord with the Fair Labor Standards Act. All contractors are required to maintain proof of Worker’s Compensation Insurance on all employees and Liability Insurance for the operational activities. Operators are trained in hazardous spill containment.
Any contractor utilizing migrant or seasonal labor must do so under the direction of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29USC 1801- 1872; 5CFR 500). Where applicable, contractors are required to show proof of valid Oregon Farm/Forest Labor Contractor License throughout the duration of operation on Collins lands.
Collins uses independent contractors to harvest forest products, maintain roads and early silviculture treatments. Payment to the contractor is based upon production in volume or tonnage of fiber. Road work is paid hourly or on a project basis. Contractor used to prepare planting sites, planting or thinning are paid hourly or a per acre basis.
If any safety issue is observed during field inspection of operations, the safety issue will be brought to the immediate attention of the contractor or supervisor. All operators are required and expected to follow Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHA).
Collins strives to instill pride of ownership in our contractors as it pertains to projects they perform across the forest. Through monitoring the operations and constructive feedback between contractors and the Resource Staff, project modification allows operations and condition changes to be made consistent with resource protection and sustainability.
Management Zones
Management zones are areas where wildlife habitat, water resources, old growth character, aesthetics and recreation take precedence over timber management objectives. For example, riparian wetland areas play a significant role in restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the water resource coming from the forest. Wildlife use riparian areas disproportionately more than any other type of habitat. In addition, riparian areas are highly prized for their economic values and other uses such as livestock production and recreation.
Two categories of special management zones currently are employed on the ground: Riparian zones and special areas.
Riparian zones are defined as designated stream corridors including flood plains, associated wetlands and adjacent forested lowlands. These zones meet the FSC Pacific Coast Standards for buffering classified watercourses.
Objectives for these management zones are: protection of water quality; protection of associated wetlands and their aquatic habitats; dissipate energies associated with wind and wave action; and overland flow from adjacent sites, thereby reducing erosion and improving water quality; filter sediment and aid floodplain development; improve flood-water retention and ground-water recharge; develop root masses that stabilize islands and bank features against cutting action; restrict water percolation; develop diverse pooling characteristics to provide the habitat and water depth, duration, and temperature necessary for fish production, water bird breeding, and other uses supporting greater biodiversity.
Special management zone assessment has been conducted across the ownership and is an on-going process. A special management area is considered one which is not typical of its surrounding environment or exhibits a uniqueness or character of its own. The goal for an identified special management area is to protect, enhance, or maintain the specific species and attributes of the area for educational, research, and aesthetic purposes. Usually these are areas of unique hydrologic and geologic features or containing unique plant communities, which will be protected during all land management activities. FSC® has classified these areas as either High Conservation Values (HCV) or Representative Sample Areas (RSA).
In association with State and Federal protections for listed species the HCV and RSA classification process assist Collins Lakeview Forest in identifying and protecting Rare, Threatened and Endangered species and habit.
Currently, two HCV3 and two RSAs have been identified. Management associated with the RSAs will be passive but include monitoring to evaluate change. Management within the HCV3 will be limited to activities that maintain the resources the necessitated the classification as an HCV3.
All lands managed on the forest have been assessed for the occurrence of HCVs and RSAs. The forest will be reassessed at a minimum once every 10 years to determine if new science or population dynamics are available that would cause portions of our lands to be reclassified as an HCV or RSA.
All new land acquisitions will be assessed under the CLF protocol for selection of HCVs and RSAs.
The other type of special management zones that are managed for as special areas. These are areas consisting of one or more of the following characteristics: forest cover types and plant populations; wildlife habitat and animal populations; recreation and cultural sites; unique physical or geological features and scenic corridors.
The unique characteristics of these areas which could be adversely impacted by timber harvesting are protected. Operations will only occur within these special areas under the following conditions: to enhance the overall wildlife habitat; to meet specific habitat needs of unique wildlife and plant populations; to improve and protect access to the area; to salvage dead and dying timber.
Individual project plans will be developed for each management area. Site specific actions will protect and enhance the unique features. Prior to management activity, these areas will be delineated and described to a contractor before operations commence.
Island reserves and special management areas will be mapped and entered into a GIS with new areas added as they are established.
Collins is proud of our long-standing promise to uphold land and resource stewardship.
