CA - Mill Teaches Environmental Benefits

Architects laid down their pencils and builders dropped their hammers last month. They, along with engineers from throughout Northern California, traveled to the Collins Pine Mill in Chester, Calif., to learn more about building "green."

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Mill Teaches Environmental Benefits

Residential, commercial builders study LEED standards

By DEBRA MOORE
For the Capital Press

Caption: Collins Pine employee Chris Verderber, left, leads a group of architects, engineers and builders through the log yard at the Collins Pine Mill in Chester, Calif. The wood waste piled behind him will be used to fuel the cogeneration plant at the mill to produce electricity.

Architects laid down their pencils and builders dropped their hammers last month. They, along with engineers from throughout Northern California, traveled to the Collins Pine Mill in Chester, Calif., to learn more about building "green."

Designer El O'Hare was there because one of his clients is seeking LEED certification for a new building project. The U.S. Green Building Council created LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - in 1993. It is a rating system in which points are awarded for meeting environmental standards.

O'Hare, owner of O'Hare Drafting and Designs of Chico, Calif., said, "I'm just kind of learning about this. It's important for my business."

There is more pressure now to construct environmentally friendly projects for both residential and commercial builders. Many jurisdictions are awarding financial incentives to those who build green.

The Collins Companies, a family-owned timber and forest products company, was formed in 1855. It has built a reputation on being environmentally friendly and has been nationally recognized and won numerous awards for its efforts.

The Collins Pine Mill in Chester, Calif., produces 120 million board feet of timber each year, yet the forest that supplies the wood contains more timber than it did 100 years ago.

That's because the Collins Companies, based in Portland, Ore., grows more timber than it harvests on its forests. It is the first privately owned company in North America to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

The Collins Companies' efforts to protect the environment can now help architects, engineers and builders meet their clients' demands to become LEED certified.

"When it comes to green building, everybody has been talking about operating energy," said Lisa Podesto, of WoodWorks California. "They focus on the mechanical and electrical systems of the building."

Podesto said that how the building is constructed is just as important. "Wood is better than steel or concrete," Podesto said, "because there is less waste and air pollution in producing it."

Podesto suggested that architects and engineers specify wood in their designs. Projects can be awarded points for using wood, and even more points can be awarded for using wood that has been LEED certified.

To date, the Collins Companies is the only North American company that has received that designation for some of its wood products.

The designation is given to wood that meets environmental standards from the time it is grown in the forest through harvesting and production.

Those who visited the Collins Pine forest saw the company's practices firsthand. Forester Jay Francis led the men and women on a tour that included a discussion of forest management practices and sustainable forest certification.

The manner in which the trees are planted, nurtured, thinned and harvested lead to healthy forests that are less susceptible to wildfire and provide habitat for a variety of species.

The tour proceeded to the sawmill, where participants followed the timber from the log yard, through the mill and into the kilns to dry. Due to a downturn in lumber demand, Collins Pine has scaled back production and is now running just one shift per day.

Collins Pine also operates a cogeneration facility where bark, wood chips and other salvage - referred to as biomass - are converted into energy. The turbine operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year and produces enough electricity to power the mill with the remainder sold to the local utility company.

Wade Mosby, the company's senior vice president, is proud of the facility. "We use 100 percent of everything," he said.

Energy is produced by burning the biomass to produce steam. The steam drives a turbine, which turns a generator to create electricity. This results in low emissions compared with burning fossil fuels.

Terry Collins, a member of the Collins family, spoke about wood's ability to help the environment.

"We have a positive role," Collins said. "We are part of the solution, not the problem."

He explained that trees pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it, while producing oxygen. Young trees take in more carbon dioxide than mature trees, so plant-ing seedlings to replace harvested trees reduces the amount of gas in the atmosphere. When the trees are cut down and used in construction, the carbon dioxide is stored for the life of the structure.

At the end of the day, the tour participants studied the various types of lumber produced at the Collins Pine Mill. As they ran their hands over the wood's surface and discussed the merits of each type of board, they could now appreciate not only which was easiest to pound a nail into, but what the wood meant to the environment.

Additional Information

Web Site: http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=782&ArticleID=52411&TM=49129.42

Category: Forestry>Forest & Environment

Region: California

Ad Running: 6/27/2009-6/27/2011

Ad Posted: 6/26/2009 12:22:36 PM

Ad Viewed: 650 times

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