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About Us:

Community Smallwood is an Upstream 21 company based in Wallowa, Oregon. We are the last operating forest products business in a county that was once home to numerous large sawmills, the last of which closed operations in 2007. Community Smallwood manufactures a range of products, all of which are based on the goal of utilizing small logs and biomass in such a way that we are able to create sustainable, living wage jobs and enhance the health and function of our local forestlands.

Community Smallwood was founded in 2000 with the expressed purpose of creating local forest industry jobs based on the restoration of forestlands. Then called Community Smallwood Solutions, the company was founded by a local non-profit organization, Wallowa Resources, and a group of 17 local private investors. The founders saw the need to create and retain forest jobs, in what was at that time the County with Oregon’s highest unemployment rate. Fresh off years of conflict between the forest industry and the conservation community, this business was a result of local leadership with the foresight and determination to forge a path of collaboration around the things that all stakeholders shared common passion for; the land. They knew the business would have challenges, but they took the risk for their community.

This post & pole business was founded with the goal of building a manufacturing operation to match the needs of the land; whereas many of the previous conflicts were ignited by forest management practices that were often based more on the need of industry. Community Smallwood Solutions was able to successfully create jobs, while providing a market outlet for small logs that were being removed during forest restoration projects. While the company had many doubters along the way, through dedicated leadership and the ability to inspire hope in a community that had lost much, they were able to forge a path toward a local restoration-based forest economy.

In 2007, Upstream 21 purchased Community Smallwood to continue the company’s growth toward fully integrated biomass and small log utilization. With the ongoing support of the founder’s and the local community, we are continuing to grow; both through the diversification of our product lines and the expansion of our production capacity. This growth allows us to create more direct jobs at our mill, while creating a higher value for small logs and biomass locally. The higher value and greater utilization of this material creates and retains jobs in the forest and allows for the feasible implementation of forest restoration projects in Wallowa County. The end result: local jobs and healthy forests. We at Community Smallwood are proud to carry on what has been a great story of a community that took a conflict, found common ground and found a solution!