Darrell Fox bought an Logosol M7 sawmill with an electric power head a few years back. At the time he was “locked into a job on Oahu,” and milling lumber was a good way to get back to what he really wanted to do in his off time – working with tropical hardwoods. In 2009, things changed dramatically for Darrell. His M7 became a part of a bigger organization, as did he. He writes us:

Darrell with M7 and electric powerhead cutting Koa log.

Koa boards stacked for drying.

Eight week old koa seedling. ”We outplant at 10 weeks.”

“I started talking to my partner about the forestry idea and the more we talked the more it made sense as a business idea whose time had come… We had just struck a deal on the first 1000 acres of land suitable for growing koa.
Our forestry and nursery teams were in place and we had enough money in escrow to plant the first 50 acres– with more coming in every week. We were getting interest from every quarter. People liked the investment aspect, some were looking at the potential for carbon credits, some were interested in securing a lumber supply for their manufacturing businesses a few decades out, and some were just interested in going green.
In fact we are negotiating with a regional airline that wants to buy trees to offset their carbon footprint.”
Darrell’s partner, Jeff Dunster expands on what the company that Jeff and Darrell have started is doing. He says the M7 is now located at the project site and is still a part of the operation. “We use it to mill dead and fallen old growth trees on our property.”
However, Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods, is about much more than milling lumber. This company is master planning a 2700 acre sustainable forestry project on Hawaii Island, growing rare tropical koa hardwood trees for investors all over the world. Reducing global warming through carbon sequestration and providing their investors the opportunity for substantial profits from lumber as well as the potential profit from the developing carbon credit market.
“In Hawaii, over 90% of the native forests have been lost to development and agriculture.
This pattern has been repeated all over the world. Last year the International Tropical Timber Organization predicted that at our current rate of clearing, we have less than 14 years of prized tropical hardwoods left to cut on the planet. At that point, the resource will either be completely depleted or in protected areas,” he stated.
“We all know what happens to the price of something when it becomes scarce. In the past ten years alone, we have seen the scarcity of Hawaiian koa lead to a price rise of more than 1000% and the situation is only getting worse. There is an ancient Chinese proverb which states the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago— the second best time is now. Twenty years from now, there will be a lot of folks wishing it was 2010 again.”
HLH is making it where anyone can participate in this important work they are doing.
A visit to their website will show how critical it is to start this process of turning around tropical hardwood production.
“We are making it profitable for anyone to participate in growing tropical hardwoods here in Hawaii, no matter where they are located,” Jeff emphasized.
The company will work with individuals, corporations, IRAs and trusts to help them
become owners of tropical hardwoods that HLH will manage for them in their expanding tropical hardwood forestry operations.
“We believe a portfolio shouldn’t just be a vehicle for personal wealth, it’s should be a tangible expression of what an investor values most.”
The Logosol M7 will continue to be a part of the Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods operation. But the future of Hawaiian hardwoods in this area is looking brighter thanks to the owners of this sawmill. You can help them with this project!

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