Friday, 01 April 2005
Locally Produced Doug-Fir Framing Lumber Answers the Call for Green Building Products in OR
Three years ago the idea that several markets in Oregon would have lumberyards that are making FSC certified building materials available would have been a dream. Today, that dream has come true and it has been made possible by the hard work of manufacturers, suppliers, ‘green’ building programs, and other organizations.
One of the market drivers is ‘green’ building, including both residential and commercial construction projects. In Oregon, residential projects can earn certification from Portland General Electric’s (PGE) EarthAdvantage program and commercial projects can be certified by the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program. Both green building programs go further than just certifying buildings, they also offer education and assistance to architects, designers, builders and other professionals about new technologies, products, and design applications. EarthAdvantage made FSC-certified wood an integral part of its checklist for structural and interior finishes. However, FSC-certified products were not readily available when the EarthAdvantage checklist was originally launched in 2001. Duane Woik, New Construction Consultant, of EarthAdvantage has been a strong advocate for keeping FSC certified wood in their program. He has communicated the value of FSC to builders around the state in an effort to create a ground swell of demand. Kent Goodyear, Director of Market Connections at Ecotrust, has been working with Woik to gauge and communicate this demand to forest landowners, manufacturers, and suppliers.
Woik and Goodyear found that builders were interested in using FSC certified products if they could get good quality Douglas-fir framing lumber, at a reasonable price, from a supplier in their market. Along came Warm Springs Forest Products Industries (WSFPI), a tribal enterprise of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation. In 2003, WSFPI earned FSC certification for over 400,000 acres of forest on the east side of the Cascades in Oregon. Their forest produces a number of species, but most notably Douglas-fir, which is dried at their mill. At that time, those working to meet demand for quality, kiln-dried, Douglas-fir lumber in the Pacific Northwest had an answer.
In 2004, 5% of WSFPI’s lumber produced was sold as FSC, and in 2005 they are working to increase that number to 25%.
Much of WSFPI’s lumber has been sold to lumberyards, such as, Tum-A-Lum Lumber in Hood River and Miller Lumber in Bend. Charley Miller of Miller Lumber said his company has sold over 1 million board feet of FSC certified lumber since earning a COC certificate in October of 2004. Charley credits WSFPI’s location and quality products, plus a growing demand in eastern Oregon for FSC certified building materials for such a large amount of sales. However, at Miller Lumber in Bend, you will get FSC kiln-dried lumber whether you ask for it or not, because Miller has taken the extra step to stock and sell only FSC-certified products for its dried lumber.
Other retail lumberyards who have been stocking FSC certified lumber or who have recently received COC certification include Parr Lumber in Newberg and Redmond, Lumbermens in Clackamas and Cannon Beach, and Keith Brown in Salem. Still other retail lumberyards have contacted FSC accredited certifiers about becoming COC too.
Green building programs have also increased the uptake of other locally produced FSC-certified products as well, including plywood from Rose-burg Forest Products and Columbia Forest Products, and hem-fir lumber from The Collins Companies.
As more residential and commercial green building projects require FSC-certified products, more lumberyards will make FSC available, and more land will be certified to the strongest globally recognized forest management certification standard. The future looks bright, consumer outreach is planned to increase awareness of FSC products at several tour homes in central Oregon this spring which will use FSC-certified lumber.
The next step will be to encourage other markets around the country to work towards setting high standards for residential and commercial building programs that will allow this type of market transformation to continue in the forest products industry.