Green Horizons

Larry Blair of Bradleyville showcased his cedar sawmill on the field trip.

More than 170 people from five states attended the Redcedar Workshop, Aug. 9-11, in Springfield, Mo. One of the first orders of business was to get the hotel (and several others) to realize that redcedar is one word! In spite of that minor faux pas, everyone agreed the gathering was a smashing success.

Skip Mourglia, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Frances Main, Missouri Department of Conservation, did an outstanding job lining up the field tour. Stops included one of the last remaining large tracts of “old-growth” cedar. Remember that since many Ozark forest stands did not begin regenerating until the late 1940s, old-growth here means only 60 years! Processors in the Bradleyville area showed the group true Ozark hospitality and freely talked about their operations.

The indoor sessions that followed over the next two days allowed participants to learn more about managing natural cedar stands, utilizing every part of the tree, and marketing those products on the world stage. But the most important thing that the workshop accomplished was bringing together everyone who saw the opportunities provided by redcedar rather than the challenges.

Even before they left, workshop attendees were already wanting to know when Skip was going to host the next meeting. Skip?... Skip? Now where did she go?!

Mark Norwine discussed the manufacturing problems associated with knots as well as the pros and cons of pruning.

Most people think of cheap novelty items when the word “redcedar” is mentioned; not high-dollar cedar planking destined for East Coast markets.