Season's Greetings and a Look at 2024
From all of us at Zena Forest Products, we wish you a holiday season filled with joy and a new year full of inspiration. Thank you for supporting our work, the Zena Forest, and restoration projects across Oregon.
Despite the various challenges that 2024 brought, we have much to celebrate. This year marked some exciting milestones:
In late May, we officially launched our new Zena EdgeGrain™ flooring at an amazing event in Portland.
On August 14, the new Portland Airport terminal opened to the public, featuring our Zena EdgeGrain.
We are also incredibly grateful to have received three distinct grants this year to help us advance our work:
A Value Added Producer Grant from the USDA to expand our production and marketing of EdgeGrain.
A Climate Smart Commodities Grant through Sustainable NW to support our work in the Zena Forest to dramatically increase the amount of carbon sequestered and stored over time.
An America the Beautiful Grant through the US Fish and Wildlife Foundation to support restoration of our Oregon white oak ecosystem here in the Zena Forest.
We were able to further our mission of supporting the restoration of forestland throughout Oregon by purchasing logs from a number of restoration projects. Most notably, we have supported Finley Wildlife Refuge by buying numerous truckloads of Oregon oak salvaged from the January 2024 ice storm that severely damaged large swaths of Oregon white oak on the refuge.
At Zena Forest Products, we take great pride in every floor, vent, and stair we craft. Each log that we saw is part of a regenerative process that nurtures the forest’s next generation, building complexity and resilience in the face of a changing climate.
With each board we produce, we aim to honor the unique life of every tree while enhancing the spaces where our wood will find its new home. Every delivery is a partnership, connecting your space to the past, present, and future of the Zena Forest and the forests of Oregon.
To all our incredible clients and supporters, thank you for joining us on this journey.
Warm wishes,
Ben Deumling
President of Zena Forest Products