Utilizing Low-Value Wood Species From Forest Restoration Projects in Local CLT Manufacture and Design

Abstract

Years of wildfire suppression and ever-extending periods of drought are fanning the flames of catastrophic wildfires at an unnatural scale. The west coast of the United States has suffered the brunt of these negative impacts as wildfire seasons are becoming increasingly worse every year. The abundance of small-diameter trees and dry fuel accumulating in forests is reinforcing the need for better forest management practices as human activity in the last century has proven to be detrimental to the global climate. The goal of this research is to examine the relationship between collaborative forest restoration and local mass timber production to showcase the use of mass timber as a means to improve wildfire resilience and push the United States toward developing its mass timber industry at a local scale. The use of low-value species, harvested from forest restoration projects, in mass timber panels can create a symbiotic relationship between forestry, architecture, and the respective local economy. This project addresses the utilization of low-value species (Ponderosa pine) from forest restoration projects in the Sierra Nevada forests of California to manufacture mass timber locally that, in return, can provide the material for public lands facilities as demonstration projects in parks affected by wildfires.