PORTLAND The new pellet plant at Malheur Lumber fits right in with the mission of Bear Mountain Forest Products, according to Rolf Anderson.

   The dream is not to make pellets in one big plant and then truck them all over the place, said Anderson, who is the CEO of Bear Mountain. We like the model in John Day taking locally produced materials and, as much as possible, using them locally.

   Thats one of the reasons Bear Mountain Forest Products became a partner with Ochoco Lumber, Malheurs parent company, in the biomass plant project. Bear Mountain is handling the marketing and distribution of the pellets and compressed blocks sold as Bear Bricks.

   The company was founded in 1988 by Bob Sourek, who had been a Forest Service forester and became intrigued by the prospects of the emerging pellet stove industry. He started a small operation in Hood River and moved it to Cascade Locks about 18 years ago. 

   The company added a second plant, in Brownsville,  about 10 years ago.

   Anderson said the company has grown along with the growth in the pellet stove industry, about 10 percent a year. 

   Today, Bear Mountain is the largest producer of pellets in the western United States. It employs 75 people and distributes its products bricks, pellets, pet bedding and barbecue pellets through a network of 450 outlets across the West and as far east as Wisconsin. 

   They love our pellets out there, notes Anderson.

   Bear Mountains established network adds an element of security for the new plant, ensuring a market while the local demand develops.

   The John Day site is expected to produce about 20,000 finished tons of product a year.

   The pellets are made of ponderosa pine, while the bricks can use a blend of woody matter.

   Pellets produced in John Day will fuel the boilers at the Grant County Regional Airport and Blue Mountain Hospital, and also will be shipped to the school district and hospital in Burns. Currently the Harney County customers get bulk deliveries of pellets from Bear Mountains Brownsville plant.

   Anderson said hes excited about the new plant in John Day, the partnership with the mill, and the fit with the local community and the national forest.

   Its a great step for us, and a great step for the future, he said. Bear Mountain has been in the renewables industry for 20 years. It works. Its about local materials, local employment and using dollars locally that otherwise would be leaving the area.