Forest Salvage

Butternut is being killed throughout its North American range by an unstoppable airborne fungus blight (sirococcus clavigigneti-juglanda acearum). A similar blight was responsible for wiping out both the American Chestnut and the American Elm.

Our business is forest-salvage. We work directly with loggers and foresters in order to get them to stop cutting the remaining healthy butternut trees. If they agree, we pay them a premium to bring out the diseased and dead trees.

The high volume production of commercial mills demands generic uniformity. Logs with distinctive markings and natural character are considered unmarketable and often put into the wood chipper. Loggers are normally paid so little for these logs that they are forced to leave some of the most interesting logs in the woods.

We take the extra time required to produce beautiful high-quality lumber from these same logs. Far from being unusable, these trees yield some of the forest's greatest treasures.

The ability to pay those who work in the woods a higher premium for their product is something we strive to do. It is important to us to support our local rural economy and working forests.

Our forest products are of the highest quality and are as socially and ecologically responsible as any available today.

Learn about grades of butternut wood.