Respecting and furthering Idaho’s Sacred Trust

Through the Idaho Small Timber Salvage Sale Program, diseased and dead standing trees are carefully harvested, leaving healthy green trees to grow to maturity. Just ten percent of standing dead trees in a given acre of land meet Edgewood’s quality specifications for harvesting; the remaining trees are left to the preferred habitat, insects and natural forest regeneration and growth.

The Small Timber Salvage Sale Program is part of the “Sacred Trust”—a key element in the Constitution of the State of Idaho—which describes the state’s fiduciary obligation concerning the funds received from endowment land management activities. Per this “Sacred Trust,” all proceeds from the sale of trees (including those from the Small Timber Salvage Sale Program) go directly towards funding public education in the state. Read more here. 

Locally sourced and sustainably harvested

While many log home companies purchase trees across a vast geographic area (with no regard for origin), the logs used in Edgewood Log Homes® are obtained within close proximity to the company’s milling and construction operations in the Rocky Mountain West region. This reduces Edgewood’s carbon footprint by minimizing raw materials transportation and ensures that the logs used to construct your home are of consistent, high quality and have been obtained sustainably.

Some of the highest quality construction-grade timber is sourced from the arid Rocky Mountain region—including historic logs that were killed in the Big Burn of 1910. “The quality and historic significance of much of the timber we use on Edgewood projects is truly exceptional,” explains Brian Schafer. “In particular, we have access to Western Larch—the tallest, straightest, strongest tree in the forest. Peter the Great once imported these trees from North America to build the masts for his warships! We’re the only company that exclusively uses Western Larch for our roof structures.

“Our clients appreciate the contribution that carefully sourced log materials make towards the ultimate look and feel of their home. There’s also a special sense of pride that comes from owning a home constructed from historic materials that are acquired using methods designed to sustain our treasured forests for future generations. It’s incredibly important to me that families feel good about their homes,” Schafer explains. “I want our clients to not only be proud of the way their home looks, but also be proud of the way it was built, the way the materials were obtained, and the reduced environmental impact of their homes on the land.”

Edgewood proves that sustainable log cabins ARE achievable.

Schafer is also a Certified Green Professional™ and works to apply green design principals and practices to every Edgewood project. “Edgewood Log Homes adapt seamlessly to green building practices,” Schafer explains. “When we design a client’s home, we consider numerous factors including alternative energy sources, water conservation, carbon footprint, and energy efficiency, to name a few.

“The fact is that building in an environmentally conscious way is not only morally right, it also results in a higher-quality home. We can hand-select the logs used in our projects, which gives us consistently high-quality raw materials. While log homes do use more board footage than stick homes, we use only standing dead wood, with about 10% in each acre meeting our stringent standards for use in Edgewood homes, and which sawmills typically do not use. The best part? In the process, we’re helping to fund public education.

“Fundamentally, Edgewood builds ‘legacy homes’ and we feel very strongly about the importance of protecting the legacy of the environment and our natural resources for future generations to enjoy, too. This is not a marketing slogan for us; it’s a core value, and it’s the way we’ve always done business.”