SIERRA NEVADA, Calif. — Responding to the urgent need for climate change, the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment and the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF) have formed a partnership. This partnership is making a commitment to regenerative forest practices and the revitalization of rural economies. TTCF’s Forest Futures campaign, a testament to their commitment, has awarded the Sierra Institute and its Mosaic Timber operation a $1 million grant to advance this ambitious goal.

This investment leverages $3 million in grants from CalFire and the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and is aided by the work of Mass Timber Strategy. It culminates a two-decade vision to transform unhealthy, overcrowded forests—essentially tinderboxes— into the bedrock of a thriving, regenerative economy. This renewed forest-based economy mitigates wildfire risk, supports recovery efforts post-wildfire, and simultaneously offers an affordable housing solution.

"This partnership exemplifies how philanthropic funding can be nimble and catalytic, driving innovative solutions for complex challenges,” said Stacy Caldwell, CEO at TTCF. “We’re not just protecting our forests; we’re building a future where rural communities thrive economically while contributing to broader climate solutions."

Central to this vision is establishing small-scale manufacturing operations that use wood removed from overgrown local forests and properties to produce Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT). CLT is an innovative building material that offers a carbon-smart, fire-resistant, and seismically sound alternative to traditional construction methods. CLT is derived from “woody biomass”—small and mid-sized trees, alive and dead, many traditionally holding little to no market value.

Recent forest and landscape restoration efforts facilitated by entities like TTCF and Sierra Institute have focused on removing this biomass to reduce wildfire risks. The lack of local processing facilities has meant that massive subsidy is needed to move this material out of the forest to distant processing facilities, or it’s left in the woods, dramatically increasing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. CLT production offers a pathway to utilization that can help restore forest health and provide a carbon-smart building product.  

This project will reduce disposal costs, create well-paying local jobs, and lay the groundwork for sustainable economic development. By reintroducing small-scale, localized manufacturing and milling operations, it will provide a significant boost to the local economy. The facility, located in Taylorsville, will help the North Tahoe-Truckee region process timber from its overcrowded and high-risk forests, offering an additional place for woody biomass processing.

Philanthropy plays a significant role in making large projects pencil. To donate to Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation’s Forest Futures Campaign, visit ttcf.fcsuite.com.