Supporting Working Forests and Fighting Climate Change
What if we could have healthy forests, a healthy climate, healthy communities, and thriving local economies?
Recently, Sustainable Northwest and partners officially launched a new initiative to connect landowners taking actions that improve forest health, climate resilience, and carbon storage with green builders who are increasingly demanding this material – and measure progress along the way through a robust data collection and sharing process.
We call it “Building the Climate-Smart Wood Economy,” and it’s supported by a $25 million Climate-Smart Commodities grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
At our launch event in Portland, Oregon this spring of 2024, we hosted nearly 200 people from across many industries – architects, construction firms, Tribal and family forest managers, state and federal agencies, timber mills, and wood product manufacturers. These varied parts of the industry came together to hear how we’ve been successfully building large construction projects with wood from forests managed in ways that benefit nature, people, and local economies – and how we’re scaling up that effort alongside partners in the region, thanks to the USDA funding.
Here’s how our own Paul Vanderford of Sustainable Northwest says it: “We are re-building the relationship between the built environment and the people and forests that produce wood products in North America. This critical investment allows Sustainable Northwest and partners to support the sale of $230 million of local wood products. It also helps us accurately quantify carbon sequestration and climate resilience benefits from those wood products.”
The way we ensure that wood is connected to specific mills and forests is by tracking and tracing the wood along the entire supply chain – from forest to mill to fabricator to delivery, and finally to the building being constructed.
The approach allows us to elevate the great people and stories behind the wood products we use and to create shared value for nature, people, and local economies. Without the hard-working, wood products professionals in our region, plus strong wood markets, none of the forest stewardship work needing to be done would be possible.
Here are just a few of the projects we’ve helped source wood for so far:
This project will enable forest stewardship and restoration actions on at least 65,000 acres in Oregon and Washington, with influence on a total of 2 million forested acres owned and managed by participating producers. Supporting these landowners to implement stewardship practices that restore forest health – such as thinning small-diameter trees and undergrowth while retaining older trees – will benefit their lands and beyond.
The project will deliver $10 million in incentive payments and technical assistance to at least seven northwestern Tribal Nations and 185 family, community, and nonprofit forest owners. Partners estimate that by the end of the five-year project, participating forests will have stored and sequestered an estimated 1.3 million metric tons of CO2 -- equivalent to 290,000 gas-powered vehicles – and supported the sale of more than 130 million board feet of timber.
We’re thrilled to be able to do this work with other non-profit and for-profit partners including Northwest Natural Resource Group, Washington Conservation Action, Ecotrust, Vibrant Planet, Vibrant Planet Data Commons, Pierce Conservation District, and Trout Mountain Forestry.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number NR233A750004G042. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, any reference to specific brands or types of products or services does not constitute or imply an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for those products or services.
