Potlatch's Cloquet, Minnesota, nursery produces 2.5 million seedlings annually, about half of which are used on company lands. Public agencies and private landowners purchase the remainder. Approximately 50,000 seedlings are donated annually to nonprofit groups and community organizations. Nearly 25 million seedlings have been planted on Potlatch land in northern Minnesota since 1985. The modernized pulp mill at Cloquet will also use more basswood, birch and maple.
Additional fiber is purchased from public and private lands.
Potlatch offers private landowners forest management advice and assistance through its Private Forest Management program. Potlatch employs a relational database and mapping system called a Geographic Information System or GIS in its land management activities. This system allows foresters to continuously update information on all forest resources including waterways, soils, terrain, wildlife, as well as trees. The information permits an evaluation of the effects of management activities through time. Since1990, Potlatch has assisted more than 3000 Minnesota landowners with harvest and regeneration planning.