California's urban forests provide sustainable solution for guitar maker
The sounds of music found in the world's natural forests are under threat.
The widespread destruction of old-growth trees for ranching and farming is making it harder to get the wood traditionally used to make guitars, including mahogany and Brazilian rosewood. This deforestation is also contributing to climate change.
Global warming is a concern for many musicians, including two-time Grammy winner Molly Tuttle.
"It's something that's always in the back of my mind and I do think about it a lot," explained the Bay Area native and guitar virtuoso.
During a visit to Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, Tuttle told CBS News Bay Area how growing up in the Bay Area gave her a great appreciation for nature. But now she is seeing the destruction caused by extreme weather, stoked by warming temperatures.
"It's a big problem and it's hard to really know what to do sometimes," remarked the musician.
Another virtuoso musician who is in the business of making guitars has a plan.
"We're going to use wood more wisely, from non-traditional sources that are more environmentally sound. And we're going to put trees back in the ground," said Bob Taylor, the co-founder and CEO of Taylor Guitars in Southern California.
More than 50 years ago, Taylor began making guitars by hand in a small shop in Lemon Grove in San Diego County. Today, with more than 1,200 employees and two factory complexes -- one in El Cajon and the other in Mexico -- Taylor makes more than 700 guitars a day.
But the world has changed a lot in five decades. Not only has the global population doubled to over 8 billion people, but the natural forests have shrunk. Add to that an industry report that details how the demand for guitars is expected to increase about 8% in just five years.
"We've seen the light that wood is more difficult to get and we're feeling the pain," explained Taylor.
Taylor's quest to find an alternative, more sustainable source of wood brought him to the edge of a different kind of forest: the urban kind.
"I find it very important to make sure that we keep our urban forests as a part of our cities," said Tim Patterson. Patterson is the area manager for West Coast Arborists or WCA for short.
"There are so many ways trees are beneficial for us," said Patterson. He explained how trees sequester carbon and store it.
The family-owned business takes care of urban trees for more than 320 municipalities, public agencies, and communities in four different states.
Part of the job includes removing urban trees at the end of their lifecycle when they decay or become dangerous. Urban trees do not live as long as those growing in forests. One research paper indicates their life span can be anywhere from 13 to 30 years.
Patterson told us for every tree removed, the WCA plants two.
A quarter century ago, the arborists created an urban wood recycling program called "Street Tree Revival" to keep trees from ending up in landfills. They sell the timber to furniture makers and artisans. What they cannot sell, they will mulch. Then serendipity struck: West Coast Arborists made the acquaintance of Bob Taylor, and they struck up a partnership.
Taylor identified several species of urban trees that the guitar maker says make great sounding guitars: including Shamel ash, red ironbark, and black acacia. These types of trees grow abundantly throughout California and are found in cities and towns. CBS News Bay Area easily located examples of them in San Francisco.
Patterson then explained how the partnership works:
"We developed a system where our IT department could use any time a list comes out with trees that are going to be removed. And they see a Shamal ash is identified, it automatically sends a notification to me at area manager and to our Street Revival people that, 'Hey, here's a possible tree we can send to Taylor,'" said Patterson.
One such notification alerted WCA crews as well as CBS News Bay Area to the San Joaquin County city of Tracy. There, a large 30-foot-tall Shamel ash tree needed to be removed. It was interfering with and threatening several nearby underground utilities.
The arborists moved like a carefully choreographed team. The tree was carefully "brushed," meaning that the branches were methodically and carefully removed. Then, using a special crane, the workers lowered the largest part of tree -- the trunk -- to the ground, where it was prepared and then earmarked for milling.
The crane, guided by workers, carefully placed it on the pavement, ensuring that the wood is not dropped and damaged. After the timber is milled, it is shipped to Taylor.
"We'll make beautiful guitars out of this," said Taylor with a big smile on his face.
"For them to find a second life, and that second life to be producing music and producing joy for people, is just amazing," declared Patterson.
The guitars made from urban trees are sold around the world, including at Gryphon.
"The topic does not even come up you know what this wood is and where did it come from? Instead, it's like "Wow, this sounds great, and it looks beautiful," said Richard Johnson, one of the founders of the legendary stringed instrument company.
Tuttle tried out a Shamel ash and a red ironbark. She told us she was impressed, saying they sounded "awesome."
Michael Simmons began working at Gryphon more than four decades ago. He is also the co-founder of Fretboard Journal, which celebrates the guitar culture. Simmons told CBS News Bay Area that as younger players come up, they won't have the same desire for more traditional woods.
He said every time Gryphon sells another Taylor guitar made with an urban wood such as Shamel ash, that sale will stretch the existing supply of Mahogany guitars who really have to have Mahogany. He gives a lot of credit to Taylor Guitars.
"That is something that people have been trying to get going for a while. And I think primarily because of Taylor, it's finally taken hold," said Simmons.
"I think that's such a cool idea, not only for sustainability reasons which is obviously a huge part of it. But for me as a guitar player, I want to play guitars that are made of all sorts of different woods " explained Tuttle.
The musician just finished recording with Ringo Starr on his new country album and will be seen March 10th on a CBS special "Ringo & Friends at the Ryman." The special, recorded at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium, will premiere an all-star performance of the Beatles song "A Little Help from My Friends." Proceeds from the song will benefit California wildlife relief efforts as well as the American Red Cross.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species regulates the international trade of rosewood and other endangered woods which are used to make musical instruments. That said, illegal logging and trafficking of these woods still occur.
