How Steel Pines Uses Sustainable Sawmill Practices
Steel Pines
The logging and sawmill industries have played a crucial role in shaping the landscape, economy, and culture of the Adirondacks. There is rich history here. One trip to the Adirondack Experience Museum in Blue Mountain Lake will give you an immersive education in logging and milling, and you’ll leave wondering how the hell men walked on floating logs down the Hudson River.
Thankfully today there are less death-defying processes in place to get logs onto our sawmill, but we are conscious of the impact on forestry and the footprint we leave too. Nobody is perfect, but we do our part in using sustainable practices and resources as much as we can.
85% of the logs that arrive on our landing come from a 50 mile radius of our home. We buy from local loggers, which boosts the local economy and reduces the carbon footprint of the mill operations. If we are using that milled lumber to build for a customer, it is always local. A great sustainable practice!
As for by-products and waste, we make sure our mill operators are experienced, limiting bad cuts and inaccurate grading. If we do have bad cuts, we saw them to make stickers (1”x1” pieces of wood used to stack for air drying lumber). The pine slash (or wood scraps) is utilized as bio-energy as much as possible at our business and in the community. From fueling our burn pits to providing wood for a neighbor’s outdoor boiler, the slash does not go to waste. The sawdust is even a wonderful carbon meal for our compost pile. And any hardwood slash is cut and split for our own wood stove to heat our home!
We care about our community, we care about the Adirondack Park, and we care about our customers. Give us a call to work with us on your new build! 518-528-2266.