United States | Seeing the wood for the trees

Mass timber offers new hope for an old industry in the American West

The strong, sustainable building material may help revitalise forests

F3PMDN Abstract view of tall Lodgepole Pine Trees, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

Aug 11th 2022|Portland, Oregon

America’s pacific northwest was largely built on timber. But the industry lost an estimated $1.8bn in 2020, so once-bustling towns are scrambling to find alternative sources of income. Some are pinning their hopes on what can be a more sustainable use of the material: “mass timber”, small sections of wood held together with resin or a similar binder.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Seeing the wood for the trees”