Weyerhaeuser’s George R. Staebler Forestry Research Center works to support sustainable forestry and community

By Emily Fitzgerald
For the C-C Chamber of Commerce

With no public-facing operations based in the building and limited signage on the exterior, the George R. Staebler Forestry Research Center on North Pearl Street in Centralia is easy to overlook.

The work Research Center employees do for the 10.5 million acres of Weyerhaeuser forests in the U.S. and for local community organizations, however, is difficult to ignore.

Weyerhaeuser built and opened the Research Center, originally called the Centralia Research Center, at its current location in Centralia in 1954. A small group of researchers worked in the building until 1957, at which time Weyerhaeuser built an on-site lab and other research buildings.

At its peak employment in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Weyerhaeuser had approximately 144 research employees spread between five buildings in the area.

“This is a really nice location for us, not only for the folks who work here, but Centralia just ends up being a really good place for us because we own timber lands in Pe Ell and Vail and outside of Castle Rock … We have a lot of people from Weyerhaeuser that use this space and come to the Centralia/Chehalis area as well because of that,” said Weyerhaeuser Office Manager Kathryn Demaray.

The building went under an extensive remodel in 2018, which utilized local contractors and local materials, including wood sourced from Weyerhaeuser timberlands.

The Research Center was renamed in the ‘90s in honor of George R. Staebler, who was the Research Center’s director from 1966 to 1980. Staebler is renowned for being “the father of high-yield forestry,” Demaray said.

“It was groundbreaking at the time and it’s still being used today. It was definitely a huge innovation,” she said.

Weyerhaeuser’s Centralia-based research staff dropped to 12 people in 2009 following the previous year’s recession, and has since risen to roughly 25. Nowadays, the Research Center still serves as Weyerhaeuser’s primary research facility in the West.

“We call ourselves strategy and technology, but this is research and development for Weyerhaeuser,” said Weyerhaeuser Director of Environmental Research and Operational Support Dr. Jessica Homyack.

Research Center scientists focus on issues related to forest health and sustainability, wood quality, water quality, and wildlife sustainability. Several Weyerhaeuser business employees utilize the Research Center’s space in Centralia, as well.

“The unifying principle that keeps us together is, how do we support this business for growing trees that survive and do well into the future, in perpetuity?” Homyack said.

In addition to supporting sustainable forestry, Research Center employees are incentivized to support their local community through volunteerism.

“Every hour that we give to the community, Weyerhaeuser puts dollars towards that which we as employees can also fund back into the communities themselves,” Demaray said. “We have a lot of people that are really active in the community.”