Our Story

A century & a half of Stewardship & Sustainability

Port Blakely’s story is one of innovation, determination, & stewardship. It’s about cultivating a healthy world by caring for our forests to produce the sustainable forest products we grow & the communities we support.

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2020

STEWARDING OUR OREGON FORESTS

Company signs stewardship agreement with the Oregon of Department of Forestry committing to protect wildlife habitat over 30,000 acres in Clackamas County.

2020 Stewardship Agreement
2019

INVESTING IN OUR KIWI STEWARDSHIP

Port Blakely acquires 3,000-hectare Clutha property located in the Otago region. The purchase brings our NZ Foresty portfolio to almost 35,000 hectares.

2019 Clutha
2018

CARBON FORESTRY 2

Port Blakely’s Winston Creek Carbon Project, on 10,000 acres in Lewis County, Washington, is certified by the American Carbon Registry.

2018 Carbon Forestry Us
2010

CARBON FORESTRY

As part of the New Zealand government’s response to climate change, Port Blakely begins offering carbon credits through the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.

2010 Carbon Forestry Nz
2009

EXPANDING MARKETS IN NEW ZEALAND

NZ Forestry division enters the third-party wood business, allowing us to market other people’s logs to international & domestic clients.

2009 Expanding Nz
2009

CREATING A SAFE HARBOR

We enter into a Safe Harbor Agreement with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, committing to enhance wildlife habitat on over 45,000 acres in Lewis & Skamania counties in Washington.

2009 Safe Harbor
2005

EXPANDING MARKETS

Port Blakely acquires export log-trading firm Pacific Lumber & Shipping. Later known as PLS International, the division wound down operations in 2020 due to shifts in the log export market & the global economy.

History 2005
2003

CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE 2

Our New Zealand forestlands are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council®. We continue to maintain our certification through 2023.

2003 Nz Sustainable
2002

CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE

Port Blakely's US forestlands are certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative®. We have maintained our certification every year since.

Sustainable
1999

COLLABORATING TO PROTECT SALMON

Port Blakely plays a key role in advancing Washington State’s groundbreaking Forests & Fish law, which brought together the forestry industry & environmental community to protect habitat.

Forest And Fish
1996

HABITAT CONSERVATION

Port Blakely enters into our first Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) with the US Fish & Wildlife Service & the National Marine Fisheries Service covering 7,500 acres in Pacific County, Washington. The HCP has been expanded twice & now covers more than 11,000 acres.

Spotted Owl
1994

GOING GLOBAL

Port Blakely launches our New Zealand Forestry division, owning & managing working forests across New Zealand.

History 1993
1991

INSPIRING FUTURE FORESTERS

Port Blakely establishes our Environmental Education program to teach elementary school students in Washington & Oregon about stewardship forestry through hands-on experience in the woods.

Leaf Throwing Kids
1990

CREATING A COMMUNITY

Port Blakely Communities launches. A real estate venture focused on creating innovative urban villages combining a sense of community with smart growth, Issaquah Highlands becomes our signature development.

History 1990
1946

STEWARDSHIP FORESTRY

By the end of WWII, infrastructure & technological improvements make investing in growing forests from seedlings to harvest more feasible. The company begins acquiring more land & practicing forest management on a sustainable-yield basis.

1923 Web
1925

PIONEERS IN FORESTRY RESEARCH

As part of his work improving reforestation science, James G. Eddy, a businessman & forest geneticist, establishes what is now known as the US Forest Service’s Institute of Forest Genetics.

1925 Web
1924

FOCUSING ON FORESTRY

The Eddy family closes the outdated mill to focus the company on its timber investments.

1924 Focusing On Forestry
1923

A FAMILY BUSINESS

Skinner & Eddy end their partnership, dividing the assets. Brothers John, James, Robert Eddy & their family acquire the Port Blakely Mill Company & its forestlands.

1946 Forestry
1903

A PARTNERSHIP FORMS

John W. Eddy & his partner Ned Skinner purchase the Port Blakely Mill Company. Other business ventures follow through the end WWI, including the Skinner & Eddy Shipbuilding Company.

1903 Web
1882

BUILDING A RAILROAD

The mill is turning out 200,000 board feet a day, the most on the West Coast. But getting enough logs is a challenge. To reach the forests to the south, the company builds the Blakely Line railroad to haul logs from Mason County to Kamilche Point on the southern Puget Sound. The logs are then towed to Blakely Harbor.

1882 Web
1864

CAPTAIN RENTON

Nova Scotia sea captain William Renton builds a sawmill on Bainbridge Island's Blakely Harbor. Over the next four decades, the Port Blakely Mill Company flourishes, at one point operating the world's largest sawmill under one roof.

1864 Web