The National Museum of Forest Service History celebrates the grand opening of the new National Conservation Legacy Center on July 16-17 in Missoula, Montana. Freres Engineered Wood is one of more than a dozen wood products companies that participated in the project and one of its largest donors. The mass timber museum will serve as a learning center for forest conservation and stewardship.
“We’re the only museum that has the full breadth of conservation history under our wing,” says Lisa Tate, executive director of the National Museum of Forest Service History. “This new building will help people understand how public lands are managed, including the controversies behind those decisions and why collaboration is what makes conservation work.”
The National Museum of Forest Service History, a nonprofit organization operating independently of the U.S. Forest Service, has preserved Forest Service history since 1988. The new center houses more than 55,000 conservation artifacts and is expected to draw 80,000 to 100,000 visitors a year. Freres Wood supplied 8,520 cubic feet of Mass Ply Panels for the museum’s folded roof, exterior decks and staircase treads, with laminated veneer lumber framing the exterior shear walls.
“This museum has been decades in the making, and we’re glad to be part of the celebration,” says Rob Freres, president of Freres Engineered Wood. “After more than 100 years in the timber industry, we’ve learned that good conservation work takes a lot of partners. We’re honored to support a project that will tell that story.”
Images Courtesy of: Freres Lumber Co
The grand opening begins Thursday, July 16, with a members-only preview from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday’s program starts at 10 a.m. on the South Colonnade, with welcome remarks followed by a ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m. The museum opens to the public, free of charge, at 11:30 a.m. A community celebration on the south lawn runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with lunch, cake, music, family activities and special guests, including Smokey Bear.
For more information about the National Museum of Forest Service History and the grand opening of its National Conservation Legacy Center, visit www.forestservicemuseum.org.
For more information about Freres Engineered Wood, call 503-859-2121 or visit www.frereswood.com.
About Freres Engineered Wood Products
Freres Lumber Co., Inc., DBA Freres Engineered Wood, has a 100-year history of innovation in the wood products industry, beginning in 1922 when T.G. Freres started a small sawmill in Oregon’s Santiam Canyon. Today, Freres’ operations include finished plywood, lumber, veneer and structural composite lumber, Mass Ply products, biochar, and a cogeneration facility that supplies renewable power for the local area. Known for being traditionally innovative, Freres is deeply committed to its community and to sustainable forest management practices. The company uses 100% of the wood it processes throughout its three operations—Freres Engineered Wood Products, Freres Timber and Evergreen BioPower LCC—and six wood products facilities. Freres provides family wage jobs to nearly 500 employees. For more information, visit www.frereswood.com or call 503-859-2121.
