Forest Concepts, LLC

Washington · Jim Dooley acknowledges that his product line, despite its careful engineering and serious purpose, has a rather playful association for most newcomers. “Everybody that comes in here calls it Tinker Toys for adults,” he laughs. But Forest Concepts’ toys are larger scale than Tinker Toys, made from the long skinny trees that now dominate western forests. When put together, they make structures used for watershed and habitat enhancement. Forest Concepts promotes forest health by using the byproducts of forest restoration in constructing their products. Thick stands of small diameter trees pose a significant fire danger for many western forests, and thinning out the trees is an oft-prescribed but costly solution. Forest Concepts is working to increase the markets for small timber, making needed forest restoration more financially viable. Forest Concepts develops products with an eye toward completing what co-founder Jim Dooley calls “the watershed cycle.” Jim explains, “We capture small diameter wood and other biomass from the forests and watersheds of a community, use minimal processing, and turn it back into functional products that can be used in that same watershed. We look at the materials imported into watersheds and replace them with local materials, whether it is picnic shelters, fencing, habitat, or erosion control devices.” For example, salmon habitat restoration plans often call for a large stump or log to be added to stream sites. Particularly in urbanized areas, finding and installing an old growth stump can be quite a daunting and expensive prospect. Forest Concepts has developed an alternative: ELWd® (pronounced “el-wood”), an assemblage of small logs fitted together to create something that looks and acts like an old growth log in a stream. Like Tinker Toys, ELWd® logs rely on sticks fitting snugly in predrilled holes. With a bit of coaching, the relatively easy on-site assembly can be completed by untrained citizen volunteers, with minimal impact on the site. Only wood is used to build the structures, so when they eventually decay, no metal is left behind in the environment. Because the ELWd® structure has a lot of gaps and crevices that collect organic material and seeds, they may actually be more effective for restoration efforts than the solid logs they are designed to replace. Close ties with research universities and government laboratories have contributed to the development of Forest Concepts’ innovative products. One current federal research contract is for development of WoodStraw™, an erosion control material for disturbed ground intended to replace imported straw that can introduce noxious weeds and pesticides into the environment. “We spent two years figuring out the science behind why straw does what it does and then created a wood-based material,” explains Jim. “Forest Concepts’ version of straw is ecologically preferable and longer-lasting than agricultural straw.” Another government contract supported the development of wildlife-friendly fencing made from small diameter logs. The fencing Forest Concepts developed provides an alternative to barbed wire. It uses local timber and doesn’t require posthole digging or metal fasteners. In addition, Forest Concepts integrated wildlife science in the design. Jim explains, “The spacing and locations of the rails allow antelope and juvenile wildlife to go under, and the top rail is low enough that deer can go over.” Forest Concepts has ELWd® models that replicate log jams, nurse logs, floating habitat rafts, and “critter condos.” And then there is a line of garden products like rustic roundwood planters and small logs for creating terracing. More retail products are in the works, such as ready-to-assemble round wood structures – gazebos and hot tub and picnic shelters – for the do-it-yourself customer. Eventually, an in-store computer system will allow customers to design and purchase what they need at their local home improvement center. “Say you want a boat shelter; you can lay it out and the computer will put together the parts list for you and the drawings on how to put it together,” Jim says. “You put it all in your pickup truck and go home.” Forest Concepts was founded in 1998 by Jim and several colleagues who had spent most of their careers working for large timber companies. “We saw the limitations of the corporate industrial model where you have this big complex, and either you operate it or you close it,” explains Jim. “The timber towns really suffer when the big complex can’t operate. There are still people in the town who want to be employed in forest products, but it doesn’t make sense to have 500 employees inside one fence.” Changes in the forest ecosystems also were a factor in starting the business. “This company was formed to capitalize on the shift from old growth timber to small diameter wood,” notes Jim. Forest Concepts has a clear advantage with public agency clients investing in restoration because their products are sold in local, domestic markets. The big companies are not positioned to be players on public land because they export logs and federal regulations currently prevent the export of timber that has been harvested from public land. Forest Concepts relies on a decentralized network of licensed rural-based producers. “We decided to start with an outsource model where components are built by specialists,” Jim explains. “You find smart people where they are and put them to work. We’re bringing to rural forest industries a lot of the same business techniques used in microelectronics: pieces of the product come from all over, and our corporate entity manages the integration and customer relationships.” Forest Concepts’ rural producers are the ones who actually manufacture and sell the products, using the licensed trademarks and patented technology. The company is currently working with a handful of rural-based businesses and community groups in the Northwest, and is developing other relationships throughout the west. The company is headquartered in an office complex in Federal Way, effectively preventing them from getting much into production. “Our location keeps us honest,” says Jim. “We would have lots more fun on the production side, but we know where we can contribute most is in the development, marketing and logistics.” Thus far, Forest Concepts has reinvested its profits back into product development. Forest Concepts also offers business development training, small wood utilization demonstrations, and specialized tools and equipment for handling, transporting, and processing small diameter logs. “Our technologies enable small entrepreneurs and rural communities to either create or expand a business around the use of small diameter timber for watershed uses,” Jim remarks. “The complement of things that a community actually produces can be quite different because of the context of their community, watershed, ecosystem.” The bottom line, for Jim, comes down to some pretty simple questions: “Why truck steel fence posts and barbed wire in from 500 miles away when the community’s got timber and people who want to work with it?”