Logging in the Sierra Nevada

Logging in the Sierra Nevada arose from the desire for economic growth throughout California. The California Gold Rush created a high demand for timber in housing construction, mining procedures, and building railroads. In the early days, harvesting of forests were unregulated and within the first 20 years after the gold rush, a third of the timber in the Sierra Nevada was logged.^[1] Concern for the forests rose and created a movement towards conservation at the turn of the 19th century, leading to the creation of state and national parks (Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant Grove) and forest reserves, bringing forest land under regulation. Between 1900 and 1940, agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service regulated the use of the Sierra Nevada's resources.^[1] The economy boom after World War II dramatically increased timber production in the Sierras using clear-cutting as the dominant form of logging.^[1] In addition, the California Forest Practice Act, or the Z'Berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act was enacted in 1973 to regulate private timberland holdings.