Large numbers of trees are being removed in cities and municipalities across America by a removal process in a city setting known as urban logging. In order to maintain a sustainable environment, the wood from these harvested trees can find a meaningful purpose by making it into a variety of products rather than simply disposing of them in landfills.

Natural Benefits

Naturally, urban trees provide communities with shade, fresh air, and water; they also enhance the beauty of public landscapes. Due to various circumstances such as storms, insect infestations and other problems, urban trees have to be removed from cities and municipalities. This removal creates another avenue for municipalities to look for alternatives in making felled trees beneficial to the community and the environment.

Cities are joining with local businesses to find ways to make productive use out of trees that are necessarily removed, such as turning them into flooring material and lumber. It is such a positive way to use an otherwise discarded product and turning it into a potentially successful economic opportunity.

Formidable Undertaking

It is not a project for every entrepreneur as there are many obstacles to overcome to be successful in this endeavor. To undertake the entire process would require investing in at least a small sawmill to process the trees. The main focus for anyone considering this business would be to gain a clear understanding of how the process works, in particular where to find the raw material and where a finished product can be marketed. No assumptions should be made that this will be an easy process – but it can be done!

Harvesting the trees to begin this process is not as easy as the same action in the depths of a forest far away from anything other than more trees. The process will likely require the services of a licensed and certified arborist to help define the necessary removal process and the equipment such as forestry trucks that will be needed for a successful conclusion.

Marketing as Local Product

The most important part of the process will be to develop a marketing plan that will make any items produced appealing to a unique group of buyers. One group of people to target are those who have a deep interest in where their purchases come from, as many astute buyers want the assurance that the material came from the U.S. and was also produced there as well. A locally-grown, harvested, milled and designed wood product from their own immediate vicinity would be even more appealing to this group of buyers.

Market as Eco-Friendly

Another potential group to focus marketing on is the growing number of people who are interested in products from sustainable material. This group of potential buyers would also be even more impressed with something with a local, personal connection. Imagine marketing a wood product from a tree that grew for decades in a favorite city park – how appealing is that possibility!

Small businesses can develop the ability to capitalize on the removal and harvesting of urban timber by producing different wood products. Despite all the problems that may arise, the bond between the municipal foresters and arborists who don’t want to see trees just removed and discarded and those who would salvage that discarded residue to process and use it locally can together create a viable market for urban logging!