One of the more unique stops during my trip through Oregon and California this winter, thanks to my Twitter friend Mark Lathrop aka Twitter’s @SustainableWood, was a visit to a saw mill in Anderson, California. The only other time I had seen a sawmill, was a very small one in India without many modern technologies. This sawmill was a commercial-scale operation though and with that came a lot of differences! Here is a video of short clips I took as I walked through the mill.

What sawmill was I at?

I was at Sierra Pacific Industries Anderson Mill. The company is a third-generation family-owned company that focuses on forestry.  As the company has grown, so has its ability to manage its lands in a responsible and sustainable manner. They are doing a lot of things they can to use every bit of every tree they plant and cut.

Why does Mark call himself @SustainableWood?

Seems the forestry business has changed a lot in the past few years! Mark and others in forestry are interested in conserving resources while producing the products we need. Sierra Pacific uses modern forest management practices that are designed to be close to natural and some state-of-the-art equipment optimizing every fiber of every tree. They are part of the independent Sustainable Forestry Initiative to help ensure our forests are here for generations to come. They have also undertaken the Battle Creek fish restoration project – one of the largest cold water anadromous fish restoration efforts in North America.

Sawmill Tour in Photos

Questions About Forestry?

I am sure this opens up ideas and questions for some of you. I’d be glad to try and get them answered!