It's very common for these trees to have survived 3 or 4 forest fires in their lifetimes, and the ash produced in these forest fires makes very fertile soil for future generations of trees. Once a suitable tree is found, it's time to harvest it. These trees are part of very old growth forest which we believe should never be clear cut, and should never be used for pulp or paper. The tree is cut by hand with chainsaws, and flown out by helicopter. No logging roads to be built through sensitive habitat or streams, no heavy machinery disturbing the ecosystem.
Musical instruments are part of the value-added forestry sector.
For those who have not seen it, here is a link to the Macmillan Bloedel Forestry company's commercial that was created with the subject of Larriv e Guitars. So, the tree is cut and flown out of the forest to an area where it can be marked to identify it and determine it's grade. In 1997, when we moved from our 10000 square foot factory to our 30000 square foot facility, we kept the smaller building and decided to turn it into a saw mill for spruce and western red cedar. The mill is run by Jean Larriv e and Murray Wimble, both of which bring years of knowledge and experience with them. Jean brings the knowledge of what properties the spruce must have to be good for musical instruments, and Murray brings the knowledge of sawmill practices and machinery.