The Chemistry of Climate

Carbon offense and carbon defence: The role of active management and markets

  1. Need for protect at-risk federal forests in drier areas of the region
  2. (fuels treatment and forest restoration)

Carbon offense and carbon defence: The role of active management and markets

  1. Need for protect at-risk federal forests in drier areas of the region
  2. (fuels treatment and forest restoration)

Walk into a Pacific Northwest forest and you will be dwarfed under the branches of a Douglas fir. Their tall conical peaks dot the horizon, growing strong and straight. The qualities that make them majestic also make them an extraordinary building material: they are strong, relatively light, easy to mill, and dimensionally stable.

Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) are fast-growing trees, native to the western US and able to flourish without irrigation. They are more fire resistant than other tree types because they have a thick corklike bark and lack lower foliage. Fire may leave them charred, yet they have evolved to survive — even thrive — within such extremes.

Carbon12 uses Douglas fir lumber in its columns, beams and the bottom layer of the exposed CLT panels. The interior of the panels are spruce-pine-fir (SPF) from the forests of British Columbia, including those infested by the Mountain pine beetle. While the beetle kill wood’s beauty has been diminished, the strength of the lumber remains. Finding a good use for this damaged wood decreases fire risk and increases the overall health of the forest.

Responsible timber harvest for long-lived wood products like mass timber helps reduce the risk of wildfire and disease and provides climate-positive materials for our economy.

—Mark Wishnie, Director of Global Forestry and Wood Products, The Nature Conservancy