Stratton Mountain and Allard Lumber Team Up On Cutting Edge Logging Project

For Immediate Release

 

Contacts:

Myra Foster

802.297.4137

mfoster@intrawest.com

 

Will Riseley

802.297.4126

wriseley@intrawest.com

 

June 26, 2008

 

Stratton Mountain and Allard Lumber Team Up On Cutting Edge Logging Project

 

Stratton Mountain, VT- When it comes to the ski industry, trees sometime need to be cut down in order to clear new trails, maintain existing ones, and make room for new development.  However, this doesn’t always have to come at the expense of the natural environment.  This year, Stratton has employed the services of local Brattleboro logging company Allard Lumber to log 494 acres of land within the mountain’s conservation areas.  “While we had a few different local logging companies court the rights to the timber, we decided to go with Allard in the end due to their longstanding, responsible logging reputation, their strong connection to local business, and their ability to “Green” certify the timber.” said Stratton Permit and Planning Manager Jenna Pugliese, “logging is a sensitive subject and we wanted to make sure that we go about doing it in a sustainable and minimally intrusive way.”

 

The sugar and red maple cut from the Stratton land will be part of a pilot program initiated by Redstart Forestry and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF). The maple logs that are cut and harvested from the Stratton lands and milled at Allard Lumber will ultimately end up at Copeland Furniture in Bradford, Vermont where they will be turned into two lines of quality hard wood furniture -.  FSC-certified wood broker Champlain Hardwoods is also involved in the project.  The program aims to aggregate the supply of Vermont grown, Forest Stewardship Council certified wood, maintain a chain of custody from tree to finished product, and offer consumers locally grown, certified wood products. 

 

“The idea behind this pilot project is to test whether a premium price can be obtained for Copeland’s two furniture lines if consumers are made aware of where the trees came from, how they were sustainably managed and how many local jobs were involved all along way,” said VSJF Executive Director, Ellen Kahler. “Hopefully this pilot program will be successful and serve as a model that we can expand and include other FSC certified companies throughout the state.”  

 

Future owners of Copeland’s line of FSC-certified, Vermont grown furniture will know that they are getting an authentic Vermont product and supporting Vermont businesses like Allard Lumber and Copeland Furniture which combined employ over 115 local workers.

 

When it comes to logging the decisions of where, how much, and what trees to cut are not made overnight.  Stratton first generated a comprehensive forest management plan with the help of Tony Lamberton of the New England Forestry Consultants (NEFCO), the Department of Fish and Wildlife, local wildlife biologists, a local citizen’s group, regional town councils, and the Windham Regional Commission.  The plan takes into consideration a number of factors from the area’s ability to regenerate and the preservation of natural food supplies to the protection of water quality and travel routes for wildlife such as black bear, moose and white tailed deer.  All Allard Lumber employees and contractors will go through mandatory training prior to the start of the project in order to ensure that everyone involved is on the same page.

Allard Lumber Company is one of the early adopters of sustainable forestry practices and has been affiliated with the Forest Stewardship Council since 2003.  In fact, Allard is the largest Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified hardwood mill in the state of Vermont.  CEO Cliff Allard is a 7th generation Vermont native who has a great respect for the local landscape and ecology.  “I wanted to be involved with FSC because its goal of well managed timberland fits hand-in-glove with the way I’ve operated for over thirty years.  FSC certification is recognized and demanded world-wide and the certification has opened new markets for our products,” said Allard.

Allard has developed a modern, thin kerf band mill, with the most efficient equipment available. Updated lumber manufacturing technology allows them to get more boards from a log.  The result is less wasted resource.  Their lumber drying kilns use woodchip residue as fuel, recycling mill wastes. The remaining chips are used for heating local schools and for the production of wood pellets for home heating. Sawdust is used for animal bedding and bark is used by landscapers and by others as boiler fuel (replacing imported oil). Nothing is wasted.  Increased efficiency allows Allard to remain competitive in a tough industry.

The logging at Stratton will begin on June 30 and be carried out in sections.  Local homeowners, community members, concerned citizens, and members of the press are invited to contact Stratton and set up a tour of the conservation lands and logging site and learn more about this cutting edge and model logging project. 

 

For more information about the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund pilot program, visit www.vsjf.org.  For more information about Stratton Mountain’s Environmental initiatives and philosophy, visit www.stratton.com/Community/environment/index.htm.