The City's long term goal to maintain the City Forest as a sustainable resource, dictates that annual harvests average about 50 acres. When prices are high, the City harvest a little more; when prices are low, the City harvests less.

When severe storm damage occurs, such as the 500-acres of blow-down that occurred in the December 2007 wind storm, and the ice storm in 1996, the City must harvest more timber than normal in order to keep the downed timber from going to waste.

Such mandatory over-logging from storm damage has had the same result as with many other tree farms in the area; that is, there must be fewer acreage harvested over the next several years in order to maintain the goal of a sustainable forest.

View the Map of the December 2007 Storm Damage.