TRUCKEE / TAHOE BASIN, Calif. – As Tahoe continues to face a growing housing shortage alongside escalating wildfire risk, a hands-on workshop is bringing these two challenges together – offering a practical, local solution.

On Friday, April 24, in the “Building Tahoe Housing From Local Wood: Hands-On Panel Workshop,” regional partners will demonstrate how thinned trees from forest restoration projects can be transformed into structural mass timber building materials for housing in the Tahoe region.

Workshop participants will learn about the connections between forest health and local building materials and work side-by-side to construct nail-laminated timber (NLT) panels, a simple, cost-effective, and code-compliant engineered wood system that can be used for floors, walls, and roofs in local construction.

In addition to gaining skills and networking with other sustainable building advocates and local partners, workshop participants will help lay the foundation for workforce housing for the US Forest Service Truckee Hotshots. Panels produced from this workshop will support the construction of a prototype for housing barracks for the hotshot crew in Hobart Mills, providing a testbed and model for future local workforce housing efforts.

Across the Tahoe / Truckee region, forest thinning and fuels reduction projects are generating large volumes of wood, with over 100,000 acres targeted for thinning by regional forest and fire agencies. Forest thinning is a critical component of wildfire resilience, as overcrowded forests increase risks for hotter, faster burning, more unpredictable, more dangerous, more ecologically damaging, and more toxic wildfires. These thinned forest materials are typically piled and burned or transported out of the region due to limited local processing capacity. 

At the same time, the region faces a severe shortage of workforce housing – identified as a top priority for long-term economic resilience. About two thirds of the Tahoe-area population spends over 30 percent of their income on housing. About half of the local workforce commutes from outside the region. Recent estimates note that over 22,000 housing units are required to support the local workforce – a huge gap that could be filled through a combination of policies and new construction. 

This workshop explores a key question: What if these excess trees could be turned into local housing? 

A practical step forward:

Mass timber systems like NLT are gaining attention as a way to use small-diameter and low-value wood from forest thinning activities, reduce construction time through prefabrication, lower material costs compared to conventional systems, and support local manufacturing and workforce development.

Unlike more capital-intensive mass timber systems, NLT can be produced with relatively simple tools – making it a strong fit for small-scale, local production in regions like Tahoe. In addition to complementing other mass timber products, NLT can also add value to locally milled wood, providing an additional local use for lumber from Tahoe-area sawmills. 

This workshop builds on efforts led by the Berkeley Wood Lab, a research cooperative at the University of California Berkeley, to design affordable housing made from locally sourced timber materials and to support low-cost mass timber production across the state.

What workshop participants will do:

• Learn how to fabricate structural NLT panels using locally milled lumber
• Understand how these panels can be used in Tahoe-area housing
• Engage with builders, designers, and community leaders exploring local wood construction
• Explore opportunities for leveraging nail-laminated timber for local entrepreneurial ventures
• Learn about statewide efforts to strengthen local wood supply chains 
• Contribute to the production of panels for a prototype housing project for the USFS Truckee Hotshots 

Who should attend:

This event is designed for a range of participants, including:

• Local Tahoe contractors interested in learning a new skill they can integrate into residential and commercial projects
• Prospective entrepreneurs who want to see how these easy-to-build panels could be transformed into a business opportunity
• Regional builders and housing advocates to engage in a conversation about innovative approaches to workforce housing and sustainable building
• Sustainability leaders looking to enhance their knowledge of sustainable building materials and intersections with forest health and climate
• Other community members who want to learn and brainstorm about the future of local wood construction in the Tahoe region

A Regional Effort:

This event is co-organized by the Tahoe Prosperity Center, Berkeley Wood Lab, Tahoe Earth Institute, and US Forest Service Truckee Hotshots as part of the Tahoe Wood project, an initiative focused on identifying small-scale wood-based business opportunities that support forest restoration, strengthen regional supply chains, and create local jobs across the Tahoe region.

This project is supported by the North Tahoe Community Alliance (NTCA)ʼs TOT-TBID Dollars at Work program, which funds programs and projects that promote community vitality, environmental stewardship, and economic health in North Lake Tahoe. More details on the NTCA and TOT-TBID Dollars at Work program can be found below.  

Event Details:

Title: Building Tahoe Housing From Local Wood: Hands-On Panel Workshop

Date: Friday, April 24, 1-4pm

Location: Hobart Mills Forest Service Workcenter, Truckee, CA

Registration: tinyurl.com/TahoeWoodPanels2026 Flyer: Tahoe Wood Panel Workshop Flyer.pdf