In early 1922, the Lassen National Forest Service advertised it was accepting bids for the Pine Creek Unit timber sale just west of Eagle Lake. This was no ordinary timber sale—it consisted of nearly one billion board feet of merchantable timber! Of course, there were terms and conditions that applied.
The buyer would have twenty to thirty years to harvest the timber. To protect the lands for the future, harvesting was restricted to a maximum of 37 million board feet a year, and only 70 percent of the original timber volume per acre was to be cut. On April 2, 1922, the bids were opened. The following day, Fruit Growers Supply Company bid of $3,314,000 was accepted. The money spent in increments on a pay-as-you-cut basis.
Fruit Growers did have a competitive edge. Their Collins Tract and the Pine Creek Unit were intermingled. Since it was stipulated that only a limited amount of timber could be harvested was not particularly attractive to many lumber companies. Finally, Fruit Growers had already adopted a sustained yield forest management policy, another requirement of the forest service.
As the Lassen National Forest would monitor the sale, it was determined to move its headquarters from Red Bluff to Susanville.