California Forests Benefit from Advanced Mastication Techniques

Mastication contractor integrates specialized Tigercat and TCi machines into operations vital to the future health of California forests.

Based in Chester, California, Kelly Holt is a third-generation forest industry professional. His grandfather, Jay Holt founded M&J Logging. He dedicated 60 years to the industry as a business owner and founding member of the Associated California Loggers (ACL). Kelly’s father Tim continued to lead the long-established family business that still operates today under the name Holt Logging, Inc. He also served as president of the ACL in 1998.

Kelly grew up immersed in the timber industry. Working alongside his grandfather and father, he learned about all aspects of the business and developed a deep appreciation for the industry’s traditions and responsibilities. In 2010, he and his wife Traci changed paths, focusing on the niche market of mastication rather than production logging. “When we first started doing this, mastication wasn't a very big thing,” says Kelly. The new company, Diversified Resources, won a bid for a five-year fuel reduction project in Nevada. “That's what kind of got us going. We started off with an old 2006 Valmet with a Quadco head, and we grew that into a fleet of ten machines.”

Today, the company focuses on fire mitigation and remediation, encompassing vegetation management, creation of defensible spaces, and fuel load reduction. The contracts include services and techniques such as in-stand thinning and pruning, brush removal, and mastication. The client base includes public agencies, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and private landowners.

Tigercat fleet

Bejac Corporation is the Tigercat dealer in California (as well as Nevada, Arizona and Utah). Kelly purchased his first Tigercat machine in 2018, an M726G mulcher equipped with a 4061 mulching head. He followed up with a 470 track mulcher in 2022. This past spring Kelly purchased the prototype LX825 swing mulcher carrier equipped with the TCi 4154-15 mulching head. Although at the time of our visit the LX825 had only worked a few hundred hours, Kelly and Traci were already eagerly awaiting the arrival of their second unit.

A maintenance contract like this is where the M726G really shines. The machine cost effectively covers a lot of acres masticating previously treated forests. This Sierra Pacific owned plot is just on the outskirts of Chester, California. The wide timber spacing and understory growth suppression is ideal to promote forest health and provide a defence for the town.

IMAGE SOURCE: Tigercat

The company deploys the fleet of machines mostly on the basis of terrain. Kelly explains that the M726G primarily operates on flat ground. Because the wheel machine moves quickly and can effectively treat large areas, he favours it for maintenance contracts. “That is the best bang for the buck because you can cover a lot of acreage,” Kelly explains.

The 470 is compact and benefits from very low ground pressure. “It doesn't really like a lot of rocky ground because it's a rigid frame, and the operator is sitting right in front of the pivot point,” says Kelly. “However, the 470 is really good on steeper terrain. It's a billy goat. We tend to use it on slopes up to 65%.”

Kelly reserves swing carriers like the LX825 for the harshest terrain and environments. Kelly happily reports that although the new machine has been working steadily in rocky terrain, his operator has yet to break a hammer. The large two-piece carbide tips are extremely resistant to rock impacts and produce a coarse mulch that falls comfortably within the specifications of his contracts.

Like the 470, the LX825 is purposefully compact. Compared with the LX830E upon which it is based, the new undercarriage reduces overall width by 5 inches to 3,25 m (10 ft 8 in). Along with a lighter-weight boom system, it is almost 4 000 kg (8,800 lb) lighter than the LX830E.

A two-part fuel reduction contract. The LX825 follows a commercial thinning designed to create a wide shaded firebreak on either side of the access road.

IMAGE SOURCE: Tigercat

Additionally, the machine penetrates the dense forest beyond the break to remove small nonmerchantable timber and understory, enhancing forest health and resiliency.

IMAGE SOURCE: Tigercat

“There are a few reasons why I wanted this smaller carrier,” Kelly explains. “First, if we're in plantations, a lot of times we'll have specs on tree spacing — maybe 15 to 20 foot spacing. As you're leaving your trees, you have one here in the middle, you go up and turn. With a bigger carrier, you might uproot the standing tree, or the track might hit it. We also have ground compaction requirements. If ground pressure is too high, it will eliminate you from even being able to bid on the job.”

The second reason is transportation. “Our lowbeds are only good for a certain weight. Up here on these roads with the LX830, I would require a pilot car front and rear and I'd have to install outriggers.” The smaller size is a big advantage for Kelly because the machines move a lot — up to ten times per year. “If I was in a cut and carry situation, if I was logging, I would want an 830. Because you need the extra weight. You need stability. You need track power. But waving that masticating head around, I don't need that. All the weight it ever carries is the mulching head.”

For Kelly, another big and somewhat unanticipated advantage is fuel consumption. The LX825 was designed ground-up for mulching, with very efficient hydraulic circuits and high flow to the head. The machine is burning over 30% less fuel than his other swing carriers, while still maintaining production.

"If I was in a cut and carry situation, if I was logging, I would want an 830. Because you need the extra weight. You need stability. You need track power. But waving that masticating head around, I don't need that. All the weight it ever carries is the mulching head." — Kelly Holt.

The LX825 was essentially birthed in California with a commitment from Bejac and a selection of local contractors to provide feedback to quickly develop a machine suited for niche mastication and fire mitigation requirements. The machine was also designed with a convertible hydraulic system so that contractors can easily swap the mulching head for a felling saw as required. Considering the volume of dead standing timber in California, Kelly thinks this will be an additional benefit when working on post-fire remediation contracts.

Kelly was very impressed with the design process, and the ongoing support he has received from Bejac and Tigercat. “I loved being involved in some of the design of the head and the machine. I mean, Tigercat machines are customer-built machines. Engineers design them, but they're built based off customer input. Having engineers that actually call you and want your feedback — that is huge to a customer like me.”