Forest Sustainability Innovations and News

How is Plywood Made? A Veneer Mill Tour

Take a video tour of a veneer mill to see the step-by-step process involved in making the thin sheets of wood required to make plywood.

Climate Smart Forestry: Is Forest Management a Climate and Carbon Solution?

Climate smart forestry practices amplify the protective role the forest plays in the environment, providing a natural solution to combat climate change. Learn what climate smart forestry is about and see some of the climate smart strategies Rayonier is implementing across its ownership.

How Forestry Companies Prove They’re Sustainable

Get a rare, behind-the-scenes look at a sustainable forestry certification audit with third-party auditor Richard Boitnott, who has been doing Sustainable Forestry Initiative® audits for 22 years.

Florida company gives multiple lives to logging “leftovers”

The logging company owners use leftover pine shavings in more ways than one to provide a circular business model that benefits their bottom line, the horse community and the earth. It’s always fascinating to learn about the unique ways our contractors use Rayonier pine trees. Who would have thought trees made their way into cell...

What is Sustainable Forestry?

We take a detailed look at what “sustainable forestry” means, the standards that have to be met in order to be considered sustainable in forestry, and the impact of sustainable forestry practices on the environment.

Rayonier Support Employees Plant 4000 Trees at Planting Day

The support employees, who do not work in the field, got to experience what it’s like to plant a forest of baby trees under the watchful eye of our foresters at this team-building event.

Trees in Screens? How Nanocellulose Is Enhancing Screen Tech Sustainability

Trees in screens? You read right. In this article, you’ll learn how tree fiber is used in screen technologies to enhance functionality and sustainability.

Rayonier Scientists Bring Deep Knowledge to Forest Management

The in-house research team not only stays on top of the latest research, but conducts research projects of their own to address challenges in our forests.

Why Pollinators Thrive in Working Forests

Pollinators like bees and butterflies are attracted to working forests, where cleared or newly-planted areas have plenty of pollen to browse. Our beekeeper video and all images in this story were captured in Rayonier forests.

How Rayonier’s Foresters Protect Bald Eagles

A forester’s work goes far beyond trees. They are also trained to recognize, preserve and protect vulnerable species. Rayonier employees explain how protecting the nests of bald eagles is another aspect of sustainable forestry.

Why is Forest Biodiversity Important?

In planted forests, biodiversity plays a critical role in the health of the forest and the environment at large. This article looks at what forest biodiversity is and how forestry companies like Rayonier protect and promote biodiversity.

How Research Forests Help Grow Healthier Trees

If you could go back in time 50 years and observe a commercial forest, you would notice a vast difference from the forests today. Modern trees grow faster, straighter and healthier than their ancestors. Why is this, exactly?

How Pollen Contributes to the Sustainability of our Forests

Future Rayonier forests depend on the precise and careful collection of pollen. We share what pollen is and how we collect this microscopic dust to ensure the preservation of one of the world’s most depended-upon resources: trees.

Foresters Protect Rare Salamander Found Only in Alabama

With the extremely rare Red Hills Salamander’s habitat on our land, Rayonier foresters play an important role in protecting this threatened species.

Site Prep Essential for Southeastern Forestry

Foresters typically replant a forest within one to two years after a harvest. Site prep techniques create an ideal micro-environment, giving baby trees the best chance to grow into a healthy forest.

How Trees Become Lumber

Follow the journey as a group of trees from a Rayonier forest become 2×4 and 2×6 boards at a West Fraser sawmill. Lumber is primarily used to build new houses and in repair and remodeling projects.

How Forest Management Prevents Forest Fires

Is forest management the key to drastically reducing wildfire risk? In this series, we talk to experienced foresters and firefighters about how to reduce the severity and frequency of forest fires, how to improve a wildland fire crew’s ability to put a fire out and what causes mega fires. In this first installment, Rayonier foresters...

How Forest Management Helps Protect Firefighters

Is forest management the key to drastically reducing wildfire risk? An Oregon firefighter shares how managed forests make fighting a wildfire less risky for firefighters AND the communities nearby in the second installment of our wildfire prevention series.

Preventing Wildfires and Protecting the Environment Together

Is forest management the key to drastically reducing wildfire risk? In our final installment of this series about wildfire prevention, we look at how firefighters, foresters and loggers are making strides in protecting well-managed forests.

Foresters Build Plans Around Protecting Gopher Tortoises

Foresters take their responsibility to guard protected species seriously. When it comes to the gopher tortoise, a keystone species whose burrow provides shelter to more than 300 other types of forest creatures, we build our planting and harvesting plan around ensuring their safety.

Category: Sustainability