Forest Management and Harvesting Methods in Mexico

Most of the wood we acquire in Mexico comes from the Mexican states of Quintana Roo and Campeche.  Forestry in these states is based on the ejido system set up by the Mexican government to accommodate the Maya communities that have been there thousands of years.  The Maya are very community oriented and this system (which might be considered socialist elsewhere) satisfies that desire.

Basically, the communities (of which there are hundreds) are granted a concession of the land, usually around 150,000 acres, which only they can utilize.  The Maya workers locate the trees in the forest so that government foresters can mark them for cutting if they qualify.  The trees are cut, dragged to log landings by 4-wheel-drive skidders.  The logs are transported to the sawmill by truck where they are selected by ourselves and other buyers for veneer, instrument wood and lumber.  Quotas are established by the government foresters based on forest surveys.  As part of the system, the ejidos are required to maintain tree seedling nurseries and to replant logged areas each season.  For this season, the ejido of Tres Garantias will plant 100,000 seedlings of Honduras Mahogany.