Blogs on Logs

Lang recently recorded an interview with Ned Ryan Doyle of WNCW's Our Southern Community. Joined by friend and forester/consultant Richard Sanders, Lang speaks about the importance of sustainable forestry and about how our Root Cause initiative is helping to bolster the need for smaller diameter forest products while creating a market for local wood. Click on the media player to hear the interview:

Appalachian Designs and Root Cause were recently subjects of a great article in The Asheville Citizen-Times. The story details our Root Cause initative and outlines the ways in which we are aiming to raise awareness for local forest products and to bolster the local forest products market, while hopefully creating an extra income source for forest producers along the way. A big thanks to Carol Motsinger and The Asheville Citizen-Times for the coverage. Check it out here!

Appalachian Designs and Root Cause recently got some great ink in Carolina Home + Garden’s online edition. Carolina Home + Garden is Western North Carolina’s premier home design and lifestyle magazine that showcases great style and design tips along with expert advice and local wisdom. Follow this link to check out the article!

It’s funny how things seem to come together if you let them.  I’m usually the one that charges right by it, but this time it happened on its own. A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated our new location at 12 Smith Farms Road and the launching of Root Cause, an initiative to raise awareness to the use of local forest products.  It’s also about sustainability and honoring the materials found in these mountains.  And even still about supporting local businesses and the communities you choose to build or remodel a home in.  I keep hearing, “When are the jobs coming back?”  My question is, “What are the jobs going to be when they come back?”   We will always look for opportunites for innovation and new paths for employment.  But we should also be making the most of what we have right here…businesses and builders that utlilize local forest products.

It is not about chopping down trees either.  It’s about working with land owners, both private and public, and helping them get the most from their land use plan. (You do have a land use plan right?) Why would you not want to inventory and cultivate every foot of your property or maintain your current forests by keeping out invasive species.  You would also be playing a role in inventorying what species are here now and how they are being affected by our current environment.  Lord help us if we have another blight that tries to wipe out another native species, but if we do this helps contain it or maybe even stop it in it’s tracks.  Your trees and shrubs and plants have value, both monetarily and environmentally. And there is no value you can place on the beauty of our many forested mountains. Anyway, Root Cause continues to evolve with time.  It is our hope to build something that can be used to create awareness and educate the public about what is available to them in the backyard.   If anyone out there would like additional information on Root Cause feel free to drop me a line: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I wanted to follow up on my entry where I mentioned meeting with fellow Fairviewians regarding the quality of local forest management.  Our discussion focused on 25 to 100 acre parcels located in the greater Fairview area that either have working forest plans or those that would qualify to have one. 

What is the best way to educate land owners about the importance of containing exotic, invasive species, maintaining healthy stands and getting the most value out of their trees?  Not only is education necessary, but so is a viable infrastructure of foresters, graders, loggers and end-users for the materials.  There is a growing need for a cooperative of business to help land owners manage their forestry plans, maintain the value of their forests, and to connect them with businesses that can use their trees (that’s where I come in).  

Think of it like this:  You are a land owner and have neglected the upkeep of your 40 acres and now you don’t know where to start.  What should stay, what should go, how to harvest, etc.  So you contact a list of foresters that can consult with you about the best use and how to implement it.  If you need better roads/trails for access, they put you in touch with graders or trail builders.  Need invasive species removed? Here’s how it’s done or who can help.  What trees should stay and which should be removed to make room for the good ones?  And who can help remove them in a cost effective manner without clear cutting or taking the trees that I want. And lastly, who will buy these materials at fair market value to help offset my management plan?

We think it can work, but it will take time and a commitment from many people.

I have not had a post in a while as my grant period was winding down and I’ve been all over the place.  As the rush wears off, I can reflect more about where we go from here.  Helping me with these thoughts have been two particular happenings: one a gathering of like-minded people and the other a short course on kiln drying wood.

The gathering was with local foresters, sawyers, land owners and business people looking to promote good forest stewardship.  We met under the roof of Rob White’s sawmill and business, Burnt Shirt Wood Products.  The crux of the conversation was how we can better help local landowners manage the asset that is their forest land.  From keeping out invasive exotic species (think Bittersweet) to making room for the trees that add the most value to their property, we batted around ways to offset the many costs facing land owners in maintaining their land.

The short course on kiln drying was an eye-opener.  Meant mostly for commercial kiln operators, this course discussed the properties of wood, how to dry woods properly, and how to add the most value to your materials.  As we work towards building our sterilization kiln, this course provided invaluable and practical information. My time there also deepened my understanding of the state of the timber industry in this country. Most of our great hardwoods (and soft) are being cut, dried, shipped overseas, and then turned into value-added products – in other words, our forest value becomes part of another economy. It’s time to turn that tide and make local forest products part of the U.S. economic recovery.

Both opportunities completely reinforced the current direction for my business. These issues are all part of the root cause!

Why should everything that is harvested from forests in WNC have a value?  No one disagrees that small diameter trees and shrubs have value and can be used for something, but used enough to create a market?  Without a market, the time spent harvesting these materials can never be recovered and this is precisely why, once felled, they are usually left to rot.  This has been accepted in many cases in hopes of leaving this energy, this matter, to be recovered by the forest.  Often this is the right idea, but usually it depends on what the expectations are for the use of the forest.  On the flip side, this energy is also there to be used in the case of a forest fire.  This material is often removed before a prescribed burn can occur in an effort to keep temperatures in check.

Following the same principles of a regular, wood drying kiln, you need controlled heat, air flow and moisture control.

The kiln is an important piece of the puzzle. What are the downsides of using raw materials that have not been milled? You don’t know what is inside of them!

I quickly learned that writing an idea on paper was not so hard. Making it come to life… not so easy. I found the perfect location and began organizing my thoughts into action.

Early last spring, I was approached by Alyx Perry with the Southern Forest Network who suggested that I apply for a grant with the U.S. Forest Service in support of local forest-based businesses. I had never written a grant before, not to mention put much thought into my business’ overall role in the local forest products niche.

Looking for the perfect spot to locate my business Appalachian Designs, I moved to Asheville, NC in 1993. Back then we were mostly making pine furniture and railings for log cabins. WNC was the ideal location for its beauty and creative community.  This area offers tremendous support for small businesses and was beginning to come alive to the rest of the world.

A grant from the USDA Forest Service and administered by Land-of-Sky Regional Council is allowing me to launch a new initiative focusing on the development and promotion of Appalachian Designs' use of local forest products. The grant will go to building a concentration yard and kiln, and marketing initiatives to expand the regional awareness of and demand for small diameter wood products.