A US First Nation group has begun constructing a US$35m sawmill in Washington State.
The Yakama Nation’s mill will be devoted to processing large logs and will cut dimension lumber from logs 11in in diameter and larger, which represent about 70% of the volume harvested from the Nation’s 1.3 million acre reservation in central Washington.
The Yakama manages 309,000 acres of commercial timber on tribal land on the east slopes of the Cascades and has an annual sustained harvest of 143 million bd ft.
The large-log mill will begin operating in June 2002 and will add another 150 workers to the Nation’s 130 timber employees.
