A sunny morning greets us at the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California’s wood yard, a cozy spot nestled in a valley about 20 miles east of Lake Tahoe’s southern shore. The sounds of chirping birds and buzzing chainsaws fill the air as the crew gets to work cutting logs and preparing firewood for the community. Foreman Kenneth Cruz, decked out in a white hard hat and neon yellow jacket, supervises crewmember Jacob Vann as he tackles a dense Tamarack pine log with his trusty chainsaw.
Chainsaws rev and roar, sawdust flies around, and the team works diligently to produce about a thousand cords of firewood each year. A cord, consisting of around 800 pieces of firewood, provides a month’s worth of heating for a home. The Washoe Tribe relies heavily on firewood for warmth, with about one-third of its members using it as their sole heating source. The Wood for Elders program ensures that tribal elders receive free firewood to stay warm during the cold winter months.
The tribe’s dedication to forest stewardship and sustainability shines through as they strategically harvest logs from overgrown forests and areas affected by wildfires. The partnership with the National Forest Foundation allows them to repurpose damaged logs from forest thinning projects, turning them into valuable firewood for the elders. As climate change continues to impact the region, the importance of responsible forest management and community support becomes increasingly evident.
