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10/13/2005
PML on Cutting Edge of Sustainable, Affordable Housing

Orchard Gardens is blooming with 35 units constructed using a slew of sustainable building practices. At the heart of Orchard Gardens is the idea that truly affordable housing is possible, and that development using sustainable materials and energy-conserving methods will reap rewards in the form of lowered utility costs and a healthier environment.

One major commitment was the use of sustainably harvested wood. Local forester and soil scientist Mark Vander Meer came to homeWORD with the idea, and worked with two local mills—Tricon Timber in St. Regis and Pyramid Mountain Lumber Inc. in Seeley Lake—to get lumber from timber sales that he verified as sustainable.

“We truly looked at it as an investment in a different way of doing business, ensuring that products generated by sustainable forestry make their way to homebuilders and are put into quality homes,” says Gordy Sanders, Pyramid’s resource manager.

As far as homeWORD, the mills and Vander Meer know, this is the first time something like this has been done in Montana. McMilin says the project’s contractors are enthusiastic about using local sustainable lumber, and eager to see a steady supply of it in the future.

“There is a lot of good forestry going on that we should take advantage of,” Vander Meer says. “I provided the link, but [the mills] are the ones that deserve the credit.”

The above was excerpted from “Home Grown” in the October 13, 2005 issue (Vol. 16, No. 44) of the Missoula Independent, written by Jessie McQuillan who may be contacted at jmcquillan@missoulanews.com . The article is also available online at http://www.everyweek.com/News/news.asp?no=5034.