Forest Stewardship
We believe it is imperative, and moral, to manage forests so that wood may be harvested in perpetuity without reducing the health of that forest or its creatures. We buy lumber from those who share this vision.
The Forest Stewardship Council
In 1993, industry, community, and environmental groups from 25 countries founded the Forest Stewardship Council. (Link opens in new tab.) The Council developed standards for managing healthy forests and an auditing system to verify to people that the wood they buy comes from healthy, well-managed forests.
Certification
Forest owners and managers can develop plans for tracts of timberland that fulfill the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council and then apply for certification. The Council accredits independent third parties to certify that the operation and management of that forest complies with these approved plans. An auditor reviews the plans and the operations annually. Wood from these forests can be labeled as FSC Certified.
Sources of our Lumber
Forest Stewardship Council certified cherry, maple, and mahogany lumber is available and we buy it--with rare exception. Our primary supplier for cherry and maple is Collinswood.
We get sapele (African mahogany) from FSC certified forests in the Ivory Coast.
Walnut is not readily available certified, because of its scattered habits of growth and special distribution system. Irion Lumber selects for our specifications for color, grade, and dimension, but cannot provide certification.
Mesquite is an odd and peripheral case. In the brush country where it grows, forest management does not compute.
Genuine mahogany is endangered in much of its Central and South American range. We only use FSC certified mahogany. It has become hard to get so we use sapele.
