Can the logger and the treehugger get along? Can a sawmill, like Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Flooring, Emlenton, PA, whose sole purpose is to provide solid hardwood flooring from chopping down old-growth ash, cherry, maple and white oak trees peacefully co-exist with the grandaddy of green, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) whose sole mission is to “change the dialogue about and the practice of sustainable forestry worldwide.”
This modern-day drama reminds me of the 1943 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, “Oklahoma!,” especially the scene with the entire cast singing, “The Farmer and the Cowman.” In this rivalry, set in the early 1900s as the early settlers made a home in the Oklahoma territory, the tension arises from the farmers’ desire to protect their crops with fences while the cowmen prefer the freedom to move their cattle over a wide open range.
“The farmer and the cowman should be friends.
Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends.
One man likes to push a plough, the other likes to chase a cow,
But that’s no reason why they cain’t be friends.”
Turns out, just like on Broadway, like-minded stewards of nature can create a happy ending.
FSC-Certified Hardwood Flooring
“Sometime around 1997 one of my foresters brought me a pamphlet on the FSC,” says Denny Hickman, whose family has owned the Appalachian mountain sawmill for several generations. “My initial reaction was, ‘The last thing I need is Al Gore telling me how to grow oak trees!’
“But as I looked more at the program it really wasn’t anything different than what my father and grandfather (who started the mill) had been doing for the past 50+ years. We were somewhat lacking in the documentation they required, but on the practical side, we were practicing sustainable forestry and had been doing it for a long time.”
The Hickmans, you might say, were ahead of their time. “My father always tried to get private landowners involved in long-term timber management. But we fight a stereotype in that people think sawmill guys are a bunch of crazies with chainsaws running wild,” Denny says.
That didn’t stop the family from doing the right thing for the acres of prime Western Pennsylvania forest. Now if a land owner adds his timberland to Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Flooring’s timber management program, it’s managed under FSC parameters. “It’s a good deal for the land owner because we’re the ones who are audited every year to make sure we don’t cut more trees than we grow.”
Besides being held accountable to the FSC, the logs the mill generates stay together thru the milling process. That allows Denny to sell hardwood flooring, laminate flooring and unfinished hardwood floor planks that come from a well managed, sustainable forest with the documentation to verify its “chain of custody.”
Like most stewards of sustainability, Denny find himself teaching the same lessons over and over again to homeowners who want to incorporate green building products into their home improvement projects, but just don’t spend enough time learning what it means to truly be green.
Chinese Bamboo Flooring Is Not Environmentally Friendly
“I get frustrated by homeowners who think buying bamboo is environmentally sound,” Denny says. Most bamboo flooring originates in China. And how does it get to the US? With lots of carbon footprint debits.
“I also get upset with people who claim to be green, but when they pick their floor, they only want the ‘cream’–long clear wide planks. If they really wanted to support sustainable practices, they would consider purchasing what we as the primary producers bring out of the woods. They would choose our Natural Grade.
“All of our raw material comes from here in Western Pa, and all of the work is done here. No Chinese involvement!”
So it is possible for loggers, foresters and homeowners to work together to protect our planet’s natural resources; allow a small, generations-old family business to thrive; and homeowners to select beautiful natural hardwood flooring–direct from the mill. Just like the song says…
Territory folks should stick together,
Territory folks should all be pals.
Cowboys dance with farmer’s daughters,
Farmers dance with the ranchers’ gals.
Originally posted 2010-01-26 09:35:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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