Almost half the private land in Lane County (597,600 of 1,269,261 acres) is owned by industrial timber companies. These companies range in size from very large corporations to very small individual owners. Size classifications are based on the total amount of forest land the company owns in western Oregon. As a result, some very large timber companies such as Louisiana Pacific are not classified as major companies in western Oregon. Some of the major companies do not own much land in Lane County. Some medium size companies own more land in the county than some large companies, and some small companies own more land than some medium companies.
Major companies are those that own more than 100,000 ha (247,105 acres) of private industrial forest land in western Oregon. In Lane County, these include Boise Cascade Corporation (only one small parcel), Georgia Pacific Corporation (only twelve parcels on the middle McKenzie River), International Pacific, Longview Fibre Company (only five parcels, just north of Florence), and Weyerhaeuser Corporation. Weyerhaeuser is by far the largest owner with 275,984 acres, mostly on the Cascade foothills. International Pacific owns 91,456 acres, mostly in the central part of the county, southwest of Veneta.
Large companies are those that own between 100,000 and 50,000 ha (123,552 acres) in western Oregon. In Lane County, these include Champion International Corporation, Simpson Timber Company (only one small parcel), Timber Services (only two small parcels), and Willamette Industries. Champion owns 29,916 acres, mostly on the middle Siulsaw River, and Willamette owns 29,469 acres, mostly in the Mohawk River valley.
Medium companies are those that own between 50,000 and 10,000 ha (24,711 acres) in western Oregon. In Lane County, these include Bohemia Lumber Company, Davidson Industries, Giustina Brothers, John Hancock Mutual Insurance, Lone Rock/Sun Studs (each with only two parcels), Rosboro Lumber Company, Seneca, Starker Forests, Inc. (only five parcels), and Swanson Superior. Giustina Brothers own 46,588 acres, near Lowell and on the middle McKenzie River, Bohemia owns 37,363 acres, west of Junction City and southeast of Cottage Grove, Rosboro owns 34,740 acres, mostly on the upper McKenzie, and Seneca owns 25,406 acres, mostly south of Oakridge. All the others own less than 18,000 acres each.
Small companies are those that own less than 10,000 ha in western Oregon. In Lane County, these include individual owners such as Ralph Hull, the Nature Conservancy, utility companies such as Eugene Water and Electric or Pacific Power and Light, insurance companies, and well-known local timber companies such as Zip-O Log Mills. No small company's lands come even close to the 10,000 ha (24,711 acres) maximum. Only Cone Lumber Company (2,262 acres), Diamond B (1,812 acres), Koozer Brothers (3,204 acres), Murphy Company (1,158 acres), Pope & Talbot (2,120 acres), Transition, Inc. (2,349 acres), Travelers (2,812 acres) own more than 1,000 acres in the county. These small companies are located mostly in scattered clusters between the private lands on the Willamette River valley floor and the larger industrial forest lands on the valley slopes.
