Sustainability Harvested Hardwood

Wood and by extension trees are natural, renewable, and sustainable materials we use every day for building, warmth, and most importantly, breathing. We practice sustainability by collecting our wood in a responsible, environmentally conscious way to ensure the protection of other trees.

Our Forest

Our forest is heavily wooded 147 acres. We have a small hay field in the southwest corner and a rather large pond. Other than that it's all hardwood.

Our Trees

The trees we harvest include White Oak, Red Oak, Hickory, Walnut, and Elm. We only harvest storm-damaged or dying trees. This practice will sometimes limit our inventory, but we want to make sure we maintain the health of our forest.

You can read below to learn more about sustainable timber.

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What Is Sustainable Wood?

Sustainable wood refers to timber that has been carefully harvested from healthy forests that are continuously replenished and done so in a way that ensures there was no damage done to the surrounding ecosystem. Harvesting wood sustainably means taking into consideration things like regeneration and the long-term well-being of the forest that you're harvesting from.

Hardwood is a renewable resource and one of the greenest materials available, but why not take it a step further and harvest in a way that promises continuous replenishment of the timber that's collected?

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How We Practice Sustainability

Here at Catale Sawmill, we strive to be environmentally conscious in a number of ways. This is done by practicing selective logging, reforesting after harvesting timber, and salvaging dead or dying trees in the place of young and healthy ones.

When done together this procedure will enable the ecosystem in which our timber resides to be healthy and plentiful for years to come.

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Selective Logging

Selective Logging is the practice of being specific about which trees are cut down and which are left alone. This includes cutting down the older trees that are more mature and ready to be harvested while leaving the younger ones to grow and develop into mature adults. As well as making sure not to cut down too many of a certain species of tree so it can continue to exist and repopulate the given area.

The goal of selective logging is to continue the diversity of the entire forest, while still collecting enough timber necessary to supply our mill's lumber needs.

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