Sustainable Forestry Grants and Projects

Allard Lumber

Peer to Peer Client • 2004-2006

Allard Lumber Company provides high quality hardwood lumber, logs and other wood products and services to distributors and other end users and provides efficient and sustainable harvesting services to landowners at its FSC Certified sawmill in Brattleboro, Vermont. Processing 40,000 board feet per day with close to $10million in annual sales, Allard Lumber employs over 35 workers at their Brattleboro facility.

Strategic direction conversations with their Peer Advisor team included: exploring and evaluating possible co-generation energy sources for their facility; reviewing the company’s current financial situation and ways to be even more successful; understanding the nature of FSC and non-FSC supply shortages of logs and ways to obtain additional supply; improving organizational systems and human resource management; identifying new customer opportunities that do not conflict with current distribution channels but do leverage Allard Lumber’s current FSC certification and “Vermont Appeal”; and developing a multi-year strategic plan for improving their facility and overall operations.

E-Wood.com, Inc.

$14,000 • 2000

Funds used to determine the feasibility of reusing construction framing materials by actually producing and marketing reused framing material. A feasibility study was completed but E-Wood.com no longer exists. However, the Waste Management Division of the Deparment of Environment Conservation, the Northeast Recycling Council, and the Vermont Business Materials Exchange all maintain recycling programs.

Island Pond Woodworkers / Town of Island Pond

$131,148 • 2004

In August 2001, the Ethan Allen furniture company, largest employer in the town of Island Pond, closed its doors for good, laying off 120 jobs in the town of 1,200 residents. Historically dependant on the forest industry for its livelihood, Island Pond faced changes to both its economic and social structure. Shortly after the Ethan Allen plant announced its closure, two initiatives took place: First, several workers came up with the idea for IPW, and grant funds were used to manage the development of a marketing plan for what was originally a worker owned cooperative (IPW was assisted by the Vermont Employee Ownership Center). Second, a community group (the Brighton Community Forum) was established to could guide discussion and facilitate local community and economic development projects.

Lamoille Economic Development Corporation: Lamoille Wood Resource Center

$14,000 • 2000

Funds were granted to explore the idea of developing a wood resource center at Green Mountain Technology & Career Center that integrates laser cutting and etching technology use with a training program. The program ended up being more of a demonstration project (i.e., a local wood products manufacturer showed students how the equipment worked) that ran for about two years, but staff was ultimately unable to integrate it into the curriculum.

Redstart Forestry and Consulting

$20,000 • 2006

Redstart Forestry is a consulting forestry firm based in Corinth with nearly 500 clients who collectively own about 40,000 acres. Inspired by a commitment to long-term stewardship, Redstart Forestry used this grant to get certified under the stringent Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. Eleven clients (representing 1,100 acres) have signed up for the new management plan so far, with another 25 expressing an interest in certification. An FSC label allows consumers to know that the forest product they purchase comes from sustainably managed forests.

Richford Economic Action Corporation

$14,000 • 1999

Funds used to to study the feasibility of re-introducing a sustainable wood products industry in Richford. The study was completed, but no further action ensued.

Shelburne Farms / Beeken Parsons

$15,000 • 1998

The funds for this project were used to develop a communications strategy for the promotion of character wood at Shelburne Farm. The strategy was then incorporated into Shelburne Farms’ education programs. Funds also gave credibility to Beeken Parsons’ $65,000 SBIR grant. Shelburne Farms partnership with furniture makers Beeken Parsons allows them to demonstrate sustainable forestry through an on-site woodshop.

U.S. Green Building Council Expo

$5,048 • 2004

Funds used to sponsor the Vermont Certified Wood Producers delegation to attend the national U.S. Green Building Council trade show in Pittsburgh. For many Vermont manufacturers, this was their first experience with the green building movement.

Vermont Builds Greener

$32,000 • 2000, 2003

Funds used by Building for Social Responsibility and the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, the state’s leader in energy efficiency, to create a green building scorecard. As a result of its pioneering work, the VBG standard is now referenced in green housing construction in Massachusetts, and the USGBC is considering VBG for its national residential benchmark. Significantly, the positive changes in attitude nationally about green building are showing up in Vermont, where builders associations are now seeking the assistance of VBG.

Vermont Community Forestry Partnership

$590,881 • 2001-2006

This five-year project, involving Vermont Family Forests (VFF), the National Wildlife Federation, and VSJF, established VFF as a viable nonprofit organization and created a model of community-owned forestry. In 2006, VFF offered shares of the Little Hogback Community Forest–held in easement by the Vermont Land Trust–to Addison County citizens (50% of the shares are reserved for community members with below median incomes). Harvests from Little Hogback are used in VFF’s line of FSC-certified flooring that is currently sold at Planet Hardwood in St. George.

Vermont Family Forests

$25,000 • 1998-1999

Funds used to get Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for 4,718 acres of forests, owned by thirty-one landowners, in Addison County (which has subsequently increased to 6,489 acres). FSC certification ensures responsible forest management and promises that the chain-of-custody from forest to consumer is unbroken. Funds used for this project established Vermont Family Forests as a nonprofit and created a model of sustainable forestry for land owners.

Vermont WoodNet

$31,950 • 2000-2001, 2004-2006

Several grants over the years established WoodNet as a nonprofit organization, now representing over 150 woodworkers in the State, including a large group of FSC chain-of-custody certified manufacturers. A 2005 grant to WoodNet was dedicated for the Vermont Maple Wood Gallery in Stowe, a showcase for forest products crafted by members of Vermont WoodNet. WoodNet used this grant for advertising and to develop marketing brochures for the Gallery, which they also took on to the national wholesale and retail trade shows.

Vermont Department of Economic Development: Wood Co-generation Software Tool

$5,000 • 1998

George Robson, Natural Products Program Director at the DED, initiated this project to increase the opportunity for using wood chips in co-generation processes. The funds were used by DED to hire Dufresne-Henry to create a software tool to cost effectively measure the current energy costs of a company and establish new costs based on a co-generation system. The tool was used to assess three opportunities, none of which moved forward.

Yankee Forest Safety Network

$20,000 • 1998

Funds used to form a logger safety group and training program designed to lower workers’ compensation costs for loggers in Vermont & other New England states. The funds were used to hire a coordinator to run the program, which initially insured 40 loggers throughout New England and offered training to over 300 people. In 2002 the Yankee Forest Safety Network joined with Northern Woodlands Magazine, and transformed into The Center for Woodlands Education.