By Chris Hubbuch, La Crosse Tribune, Wis.
May 24--TOWN OF HAMBURG -- When Roald Gundersen walks through his woods, he sees trusses, beams and pillars where others might see only nuisance trees choking out the hardwood.
As an architect, Gundersen has pushed the envelope with his "whole tree" designs, using unmilled timber -- often with branches still intact -- as structural elements in his buildings. Now he and his partner, Amelia Baxter, are breaking more new ground with a community supported forest.
Based on the concept of community supported agriculture -- in which farms and vegetable gardens sell produce directly to members who pay an annual subscription -- Gundersen and Baxter have found a way for people to buy shares in their forest.
For a $550 annual contribution, members get access to the 140-acre valley about 12 miles south of La Crosse. They can camp, hunt and garden on the land. They can forage for mushrooms, garlic mustard and wild ginger. They can get firewood, sustainably milled lumber, landscaping stone or fresh spring water.
In addition, members can attend workshops on beermaking, beekeeping, natural building and other topics.
The vision for the forest stemmed from Gundersen's building concept.
The slopes at Driftless Farm are filled with fast-growing aspen, box elder and basswood that choke out hardwood trees and traditionally are considered useless. Too small for milling, they usually end up as pulp.
"It's just a weed tree they cut down to get to the big guys," said forest manager Derek Mayhew.
But left intact, Gundersen said, these trees are far stronger than milled lumber. They are a resource.
"It's gardening the forest versus mining," he said.
Mayhew scans the woods, often with Gundersen's building plans in hand. He strips the bark and affixes a metal tag to the tree. The size, shape, and GPS coordinates are entered in a database. In some cases, he includes a photo.
Stripping the bark while the tree is standing allows the wood to dry slowly and eliminates the need for storage. When Mayhew needs a certain size or shape timber, he can search his notebook computer to find a match.
Gundersen, 49, got the land from his father and in 1994 built an A-frame house with his own hands and $15,000 in materials, including aspens harvested on site. The compound has grown in 15 years to include a straw-bale office with moss, raspberries and other wild plants growing on the roof, a passive solar greenhouse, a whole-tree guest house and a workshop where 20-foot logs are stripped and varnished under a vaulted timber beam roof covered by recycled billboard tarps.
Electricity comes from a pair of solar panels, water from a natural spring. The privy houses a composting toilet.
"We're trying to get away from the hobbit look," Baxter said. "This place is as hobbit as it gets."
Baxter, 31, came to the farm in 2005. She had worked with community supported agriculture in Chicago and the next year started her own CSA.
With the birth of their second child this winter, she had to put the farm on hold. That's when they got the idea of selling shares in the forest.
Though some community supported forests offer firewood to members, Baxter said she's unaware of any that offer such comprehensive resources as theirs.
The business plan calls for 20 members the first year. Four have signed on so far, and more are interested.
Chris Schneider bought a membership for his Honda car dealership. He's been working with Gundersen to design a future building project. He plans to use the land for staff meetings and retreats.
The owners of the new Root Note Cafe were more interested in consumable resources, such as watercress, edible flowers and herbal teas, said co-owner Emmy Carlson. They're planning to offer pizzas with all-locally produced toppings.
"We put intention into our food," Carlson said. "That starts where it's grown."
The performance stage in the Fourth Street restaurant is framed with an arch Mayhew made from a white oak, and the owners hope to use paving stones and trees to build a patio.
The Root Note isn't just taking materials from the forest. The restaurant also plans to bring its waste food there to compost.
Scott Reber was a member of the vegetable CSA and loved the idea of the CSF.
An avid birder, he enjoys visiting state parks but didn't have access to any forest land where he could harvest morels and watercress. And he's looking forward to using lumber from the forest on an upcoming project.
"Instead of going to the lumber yard and getting wood harvested in the Cascades -- I can get wood that was harvested in the area," Reber said. "I just feel like I'm living more lightly on the earth that way."
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