Where Does Our Wood Come From?

Windhorse Wood Products are derived from a variety of sources. It is our intention that our business practices will move society toward sustainability, both ecologically and socially. One of the means by which we can accomplish this is to buy, whenever possible, our “raw material” from woodlots certified by both Nagaya and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for doing sustainable forestry. FSC has the highest standards of any global forest certification body. Nagaya, the Maritime regional certifier, has even stricter standards. 

We have prioritized our acquisition of logs and lumber in this way:

1. First, we use the logs cut in our home woodlot at Windhorse Farm, which is FSC and Nagaya certified. This woodlot has been managed according to very strict ecoforestry principles and practices since 1840. Tours of the woodlot, with explanations of ecoforestry, are available by appointment.

2. Our second priority is to purchase logs or lumber from other FSC certified woodlots, including a woodlot in Wisconsin owned by the Drescher family and managed by Jim Drescher.

3. Our third priority is to purchase logs or lumber from woodlot owners whom we feel are doing a very good job of selection harvesting. There are several good examples of well-managed woodlots in the LaHave River watershed near Windhorse Farm. While they are not yet certified, the harvesting practices are very sensitive.

4. The very small remainder of our lumber, usually to complete an order for which we have insufficient supply, comes from local sawmills, which do not specify or determine the forestry practices of their sources. Therefore it is possible that a small percentage of the lumber you purchase from us could have come from woodlots practicing destructive forestry such as high grading or clear cutting. However, at your request, we can use only certified wood to fill your order, and we can give you a certificate to that effect.

We will continue to attempt to get a greater and greater portion of our wood from the best sources of ecological forestry, however, at this time ecoforestry wood is in very short supply. We encourage good forestry by paying a 10% premium for logs from Nagaya/FSC certified woodlots.

We encourage you to discuss with us any questions you have about how your purchases, or ours, affect the ecological integrity of forests and the health of communities based on forestry.