Scott Lyon, left, Wisconsin DNR Forest Products Services team leader, and Scott Leavengood, director of Oregon Wood Innovation Center. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR
By Brian Cole, Wisconsin DNR Forest Product Specialist
On Wednesday, April 1, at the Fitchburg Service Center, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forest Product Services team held its first Wisconsin Local Use Dimension Lumber Grading (WLUDLG) class for 2026.
Along with 10 Wisconsin students, we had the pleasure of hosting Scott Leavengood. Scott is the director of the Oregon Wood Innovation Center (OWIC) and has worked in Wood Products Extension with Oregon State University (OSU) since 1994.
Last summer, Oregon passed and the governor signed into law Senate Bill 1061, otherwise known as the “Oregon Forests to Homes Act.” The bill establishes a training and certification program through OSU’s Extension Service to enable individuals to become certified lumber graders. Small sawmill operators can now mill and grade their own lumber and sell it directly to homeowners or contractors building one- or two-family homes. Scott Leavengood is leading Oregon’s efforts to develop a training program, and he came to Wisconsin to see how it’s done.
Wisconsin was one of the first states to pass a local-use dimension lumber bill in 2008 (2007 Wisconsin Act 208). The objective of the 2007 Wisconsin Act 208 was to produce local-use lumber that meets or exceeds the requirements of the one- and two-family dwelling code. The act recognizes that there is a vested interest among the parties: the homeowner, the home builder, the sawmill and the building inspector. They all want to ensure that quality lumber is being used in residential construction. It also recognizes that Wisconsin has a long history of using local-use lumber in construction. The act allows smaller sawmills, typically in rural areas where the cost of a grading bureau stamp would be prohibitive, to manufacture and sell dimensional lumber – keeping Wisconsin wood in Wisconsin and, by extension, supporting sustainable forest management.
The Forest Products Services (FPS) team, in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, held its very first WLUDLG class in 2009. Demand for the classes has increased every year, with the FPS team responding by offering multiple classes. In 2025, we had more than 80 graduates from the one-day class, and we look forward to another busy year of teaching in 2026. The FPS team would like to wish Scott Leavengood and the State of Oregon good luck with your new local-use lumber program. We know you’ll be successful.