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Locally made log cabins
to be sold in Germany

Canadian logs and Ger-
man craftsmanship are com-
bining to make a unique
business — exporting log
cabins to Germany.

If you drove through
Telkwa during the month of
February you might have
seen, at the side of the road,
a cabin growing to comple-
tion in break-neck speed,

The building was designed
by Thomas R6hrl and built
by R6hrl and Dennis Clark.

“He is one of the best log
home builders in the val-
ley,’’ says Rohrl of Clark,

Taking only four weeks
from start to finish, this
cabin is a building with a
difference.

Almost as soon as it was
compieted a few weeks azo,
it was dismantled and put
into a shipping container.

And now the cabin itself
will be going on a cruise
half the way around the
world.
ft will be sent, in a 40 foot
container’ via Vancouver,
then Seattle, and down the
west coast of North Amer-
ica,

Then it will take a trip

through the Panama Canal,
and up the east coast of the
U.S., before it heads across
the Atlantic and arrives in
Bremerhaven, Germany.

The container will then
take a final on-land trip of
800 am to Bavaria where it
will make its final stop.

It will arrive in Germany
by the end of April. Réhrl
will fly over and supervise
the unloading of the crate,
and reconstruction of the
cabin and its contents,

Tt will be a showcase for
German buyers who want a
tasle of the rugged Canadian
north.

Ninety per cent of the logs
that make up the cabin are
pine, logged in the Babine
area,

“We went out into the
oush and picked out the
right ones,’" says Rohri.

As well as the cabin itself,
he has made a corner bench,
two tables, a kitchen, two
interior doors, one exterior
door and seven windows
with shutters.

The building is finished
off with a roof made from
cedar shingles, wooden

Staying in the dark
helps mountain
hemlock seeds

The Canadian Forest Ser-
vice is in the dark when it
comes to mountain hemlock
seed germination and re-
searchers have discovered
that being in the dark is just
what the species prefers,

“Much has been pub-

lished on the ecology and
silviculture. of the species
but we know very little
about mountain hemiock
seed germination,” says Dr.
George Edwards, who has
worked as a scientist with
the Canadian Forest Service
for almost .30 years.
‘However, researchers have
shed light on one aspect of
mountain hemlock seed
germination: that the species
prefers to be kept in the
dark. Studies at the Cana-
dian Forest Service Pacific
Forestry Centre reveuled
that light actually reduces
germination.
Although only in the
preliminary stages, this re-
search has already been ap-~
plied to one forest industry
company with great success.
“One tree seed company
has applied this research and
found that beth germination
capacity and vigor was far
superior when the species
was kept in the dark,’’ said
Edwards.

This research is part of a
larger study on the species

that focuses on its genetic
diversity. Forest inventories
usually do not distinguish
belween western hemlock,
mountain hemlock, and
other high-elevation species,
so it is not known if
mountain hemlock is being
depleted by current forest
practices.  Studics — will
determine if the species
vaties greatly genetically
and how this will affect ils
ability to adapt to changing
environments as well as
how readily the species can
be moved from one area of
its range to another.

“So far, the research sug-
gests that there is litle dif-
ference between coastal and
interior mountain hemlock
as far as seed germination is
concerned,”* explains Ed-
wards, ‘‘The seeds from the
20 secdlots that we studied
so far have behaved essen-
tially the same, But these
are only preliminary results;
more experiments with inte-
rior sources will give us a
clearer picture.”’

Although it’s best for
mountain hemlock to be in
the dark during seed
germination, the Canadian
Forest Service is trying to
shed more light on the
germinating process to
ensure its future in our
forests.

eaves and flower boxes,

Rohrl's partner in
Germany is a former client
of his.

“They apprecialed my
work,’’

The cabin will be a show
home in Germany [or
people who want a product
that is a rarity in that coun-
Iry.
“That's what people want
— something special,’’ says
Rohrl.

He says he started this
new enterprise, in addition
to his already existing cabi-
net making business, be-
cause he wanted to be busy
all year round.

NORTHWEST FOREST DIGEST — MARCH 25, 1998 - PAGE 3:

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GERMANY BOUND: This pine [og cabin is heading off to Europe to do duty as
a show home for German buyers interested in a taste ol the Canadian way of
living. The cabin was designed by Thomas RAGhri of Telkwa, and built by Réhrl
and local log home builder Dennis Clark.

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