Majestic Pine Used to Build Green Home

Aitkin FSC Home Uses White Pine for Exterior Siding

Minneapolis, Minn. Oct. 13, 2006 –   Towering white pines are a common image of the Northwoods. Majestic pine forests provide diverse and essential wildlife habitat and watershed protection in Northern Minnesota.   Responsibly managed white pine is also a valuable building material.  Snowy Pines Reforestation in Todd County is a family-owned and operated business with 25 years of experience caring for white pine.

“The mission of our business is to create meaningful, rewarding work for our family and friends that improves the natural environment,” say Greg Nolan of Snowy Pines Reforestation.

The mission of Snowy Pines Reforestation was a natural fit with the eco-affordable housing program of Dovetail Partners.

“Our program aims to help communities meet their housing needs by working with local companies and local resources,” says Alison Lindburg, Director of Dovetail Partner's Eco-Affordable Housing Program.  

Each spring, Snowy Pines Reforestation plants an average of 100,000 trees.   They have planted over 3 million trees since their business began in the 1970s. Snowy Pines also produces wood products with their sawmill and wood drying kilns.

“Building a home involves using many different wood products,” says Lindburg. “Our project uses wood from local well-managed forests as an environmentally-friendly option.”

“Wood is a renewable, reusable, and recyclable resource.  We want people to think about where the wood they use comes from, and try to choose wisely when they purchase wood products,” Nolan says.

Snowy Pines Reforestation is providing the siding for the eco-affordable home Dovetail Partners is building in Aitkin.   The white pine logs for the siding were cut from Nolan's property in Todd County.

“The pines we cut were diseased and needed to be removed from a location where they could fall and damage buildings,” says Nolan.   Almost half of the logs Nolan saws come from dying or damaged trees and local salvage operations.

The wood from Snowy Pines Reforestation is also certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.   The Nolan's forest is FSC-certified and the sawmill is certified to produce and market FSC products.

“The extra assurance of FSC-certification is an important part of green building,” says Lindburg.   “Most homeowners don't have the opportunity to personally inspect the forest they buy their wood from. Certification means that an auditor has made that inspection for you.”

The house in Aitkin will be completed and ready for open houses soon. The McKnight Foundation, Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation, and Surdna Foundation have provided support and project financing is through Bremer Bank.

For further information:

Alison Lindburg, Dovetail Partners Inc., tel: 612-333-0430 info@dovetailinc.org

For related project photos, click here.