MAPLE FALLS, Wash. - The supporters of the Black Mountain Forestry Center have high hopes of bringing together environmental enthusiasts and the forest products industry.

The Black Mountain Forestry Center began with the late Wayne Beech, who died in October 1999. Wayne was a veteran of the U.S. Forest Service whose career included building and restoring trails, developing maps and helping to manage vast timberlands.

He got the idea for a forestry center after federal efforts to protect species such as the spotted owl and marbled murrellet resulted in thousands of acres of national forest lands in the Pacific Northwest being declared off limits to logging. The region's forest product industry was devastated, as were many communities whose local economies depended on it.

The public needed more complete information about forestry, Wayne believed. "Unfortunately, some people think any logging is a bad thing," Wayne said in an interview with a Washington newspaper in 1999. "Forests managed for timber production are a crop, like harvesting corn or peas, it just takes longer." Wayne's view of the forest as a renewable natural resource was the basis of his approach to responsible forest management, and this view has always been the ideological backbone for Black Mountain Forestry Center.

Wayne envisioned a place that would provide tours of forests, sites demonstrating logging and other activities, a forestry museum, a bookstore and library, and a place where wood-related cottage industries could sell their goods. He also hoped the center one day would include a forestry camp with rustic cabins, meeting facilities and campgrounds where students and forestry professionals would be able to continue their education in forestry

The forestry center was set up as a nonprofit organization with a board of directors of members of the local community. Its mission: improve people¹s understanding and appreciation of forestry and to help strike a balance between conservation and appropriate management of forest resources.

Wayne hired Anthony Raab as a consultant in 1996 and began sharing his vision with him. Anthony had worked for a timber company in the Bellingham area, had other work experience related to the forest products industry, and was also involved with tourism. He was appointed by the board of directors as the center's executive director in late 1998.

One of the center's first projects was converting an old homestead into a museum. The Gerdrum Homestead, located in Whatcom County's Silver Lake Park, was built in 1893 from 4x12 planks hand-hewn from a single cedar tree. Park officials had been searching for two decades for people who would be willing to help turn the building into a museum. The Black Mountain Forestry Center volunteers took on the project last summer. The museum now contains old logging photographs and artifacts illustrating the region's history of forestry.

Outside, visitors can take a walk back through time at woodworking displays from the 1800's, including exhibits of horse logging, a shake mill and blacksmith shop, and then advance to modern equipment. The outdoor exhibit also portrays the path of a log from harvest through transport and features a 105-foot high lead tower, Bantam loader, log truck, and historic sawmill and planer. It ends with displays of fine woodworking. The idea is to show visitors the many steps required to produce the wood products they use on a daily basis. The timber processing demonstrations, machinery and tool exhibits, and woodcrafts displays encompass about 10 acres.

"After my father passed away, we met with Anthony," said Becky Beech-Raney, Wayne's 33-year-old daughter. "We thought how he and dad had put so much work and effort into this project, and it would be such a shame to see it all fade away. We wanted to make sure dad¹s efforts weren't wasted."

Wayne's family and friends are passionately carrying on the work to advance the center. "As kids, dad always encouraged us to get involved with our dreams," said Becky. When she is not working at her print and copy business, Becky serves as the forestry center's volunteer marketing director. Her brother, Andy, and her sister, Bethnie, are also deeply involved in Black Mountain Forestry Center and lead several volunteer committees. Their mother, Danna, is involved too, producing the organization's newsletter and serving on the forestry center's board of directors as treasurer.

Since its inception, donations have included $10,000 from Wayne Beech, $20,000 in 'seed' money from Crown Pacific Ltd., and a three-year grant of $35,000 from the U.S. Forest Service and the Washington Community Economic Revitalization Team. Crown Pacific also allows controlled access to the adjacent 25,000 acres on Black Mountain for forestry education. The Black Mountain Forestry Center also enjoys support from educational institutions, such as Washington and Canadian universities, community colleges and local school districts. School curriculums are being designed around the center's facilities for the benefit of local schoolchildren; the Black Mountain Forestry Center is expected to become an educational resource for schools within a 125-mile radius.

Anthony expects the center to serve up to 15,000 people this year. "That number will grow by a certain percentage every year as we become more accessible to public school systems and extended public tours," he said.

With the generous support the Black Mountain Forestry Center has received, the Beech family is now looking at the continuous unfolding of Wayne's dream.

(Editor's Note: The Black Mountain Forestry Center was scheduled to hold its formal grand opening in late May with the World of Wood Festival. For more information about the Black Mountain Forestry Center or to make a tax-deductible contribution, contact Anthony Raab at (360) 733-2654 or (360) 599-2623, or visit the Web site at www.blackmountainforestry.com.

Back to Press/Articles