Land based traditions have been a part of my life since before my inception. On my mother’s side we have deep roots in agriculture in Northern Mexico. On my father’s side we have generations of farmers and ranchers in central Mexico as well as a few generations of loggers in Arizona. In my family story, the land is what brought us together. As the owner of Suarez Forestry LLC, it keeps us working together.

My grandfather began sawmilling in the late fifties, working in Northern and Eastern Arizona. Growing up, I remember playing in the woods, gathering firewood and being outdoors with my father, grandfather, and uncles. They are some of my earliest memories.

Coming from a traditional Mexican family that immigrated for opportunity, education was my chance at a different type of career than my father and grandfather had. So, after I graduated college at Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree in political science only to share that I wanted to create our own family logging company, it was not immediately celebrated among all my family. However, my parents and grandparents gave me their unconditional support in my decision. I had the unique opportunity of learning about the business from generations of loggers, namely my father and grandfather. If you believe in destiny, you could say that this was written in the stars. There was only this conclusion. There were twists and turns along the way, but this was meant to be the end objective.

My days as a young boy were spent in the forest, learning about the ins and outs of forestry, perhaps even subconsciously. As a child, I remember playing with friends in the forest, playing with cars that would haul the imaginary logs from our imaginary logging company. At the age of ten, I would help my father with the side job he had gathering firewood to sell in bulk to destinations from central and Southern Arizona, to Southern California. I recall feeling like my father’s right-hand man, helping him run the show. Eventually the contracts ran their course and went away, and my father continued on logging as I went to high school.

As college began to conclude, I started to consider my career. The forest was always familiar, and so towards my junior and senior year of college, I started working at the forest service in the timber department doing presale timber forestry. It gave me the experience I would not have known I needed. After I graduated, I started hearing about a Four Forest Restoration Initiative Contract (4FRI) that I became really interested in.

For decades and throughout the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, forestry was not what it is today. Forests have been degraded, resulting in overgrown forests with unhealthy trees that contribute to the severity of wildfires. During that time, we also saw irresponsible logging, and in Arizona, we have learned some difficult lessons that ultimately allowed us to get to the point we are at today, with restoration as a guiding force in our work. 4FRI capitalizes on the importance of restoring forest ecosystems in Arizona, supporting natural fire regimes, increasing native plants, and strengthening local economies while also supporting sustainable forest industries.

Forests are incredibly important. From a people perspective, they offer us so much – the ability to practice land-based traditions and to breathe clean air, but they are also absolutely essential to our ecosystem as they function as carbon sinks.

I tried getting in contact with the 4FRI contract bidders, and telling them about the human capital we could bring to their initiative. An estimated 20 cousins, uncles, relatives that do this work. Unfortunately, we did not get the contract back then. It took another few years and a law degree before Suarez Forestry, LLC. materialized. Today, we work within the footprint of 4FRI, as we aren’t a part of the official 4FRI contract.

We have had our ups and downs, but 2020 was really when things started looking up as we became one of the top three to five companies in the state, production-wise. We have been able to become competitors to the biggest production companies with a completely family-run business. We have come a long way since then.

I went from working at the forest service as a summer job, to understanding the benefit of responsible logging and the ways in which the logging industry can lead restoration projects. It easily became my passion. My ancestral connection to Arizona’s forests only fortified this fascination. Throughout my projects, my grandparents’ values echo in my mind: “Care for the land, and it will care for you.”

I consider the work that we do as a dying art, in some ways. A lot of loggers are getting older, and have tried passing their knowledge down to their kids, who sometimes have chosen to pursue a job in the industry and sometimes do not. I look forward to teaching what we have been able to learn to future generations so that we can continue to protect Arizona’s forests, implementing best practices that we have learned and now lead our efforts.

Conservation is at the heart of what we do. The forest can take care of itself, if we allow it to, and that can be done even within this industry. What we need are stewards who are willing to continue to guard and protect our nation’s forests. I am optimistic and hopeful that this will continue to be the case.

Guest Blog: Guardians of the Forest