Kevin, Karolyn, and son Daniel Kaster of Kasters Kustom Cutting
Thirty years ago, Kevin and Karolyn Kaster bought a small wood mill to cut up a downed tree. ("It was too nice for firewood," Kevin says.) The Mulino, Oregon, couple's neighbors found out about their new purchase. Soon, Kevin and Karolyn were driving the portable mill around northern Oregon, transforming property owners' trees into hardwood floors, furniture, and building materials.
Kasters Kustom Cutting stays in one place now. But personal relationships are still at the heart of their work. For one, sons Daniel and Stephen have joined Kevin and Karolyn in the family business. And they know most of their suppliers. "The furthest source for our logs is maybe 60 miles away," says Kevin.
The Port of Portland partnered with Kasters Kustom Cutting to supply local, sustainably sourced Douglas fir for the new ceiling of the main terminal. We called up Karolyn and Kevin to find out how and why they do what they do. (This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.)
How'd you get connected with the airport?Kevin: The port wanted wood from small woodland owners. We're small enough that, as the logs came in from Hyla Woods or Camp Namanu, we could trace each log through the mill. We can tell you exactly where each three-by-six board came from.
You're a board member of the Clackamas Forest Farm Alliance and Portland's Build Local Alliance. Why are you so committed to local wood?Kevin: People want to support local industries and local people. They like to know that their wood came from within a few miles of their project. Nothing against people in New York or California, but you feel a little better when you know your money is staying here, going to a family who lives down the road.
Karolyn: We also want to support the forests. With well-managed forests, we can grow and harvest plenty of wood. We can create projects, whether that's buildings or countertops, with wood that can last a long time. And then we can create jobs that make a profit. It all can work together.
Kevin: There's one guy we know in the Farm Forestry Association who added gravel and put some stumps in his streams. Now he's got salmon coming up that creek that haven't been there for close to 20 years. If we can sell a product and kick some extra money back to a forest owner so he can put gravel in his streams and not have to clear-cut, we enjoy that. That's a good thing.
Was sourcing some of the wood for the terminal’s roof a big effort for Kasters?Kevin: This was a nice-sized project. I think we cut over 50,000 board feet. A mill our size normally cuts from 1,000 to 3,000 feet in a day.
With [names a large nearby mill], they're automated. Their computer reads each log to get the best yield from it. Our computer is named Jim.
You also worked on a second airport project: the Douglas fir sculpture Ben Butler created in 2021 for the walkway to the Rental Car Center.
Kevin: We were the supplier of the wood. We acquired timbers from buildings that were being torn down, milled them to size, and sent them to Tennessee. There, Ben did the cutting and carving.
What did it mean to you, personally, to work on the airport?Karolyn: It has been nice for us to know that others can experience the beauty of the natural resource that we're surrounded by.
Kevin: It was always a great feeling to pull into someone's garage, and they had a pile of logs that were useless to them. When we left, they'd get a pile of lumber. We'd get pictures of the things they made and invites to open houses. It's a little different than just selling lumber.
Everybody we worked with on this job was great, from the architects to the people from the Port. When we came down to tour the roof on the building lot, our tour guide was from the Port. When you do projects like this, you get to know people more personally than if you simply ship stuff away.
Tom Strong - Chief Executive Officer, Skokomish Indian Tribe, Skokomish Washington
"We're foresters in that we're stewards," says Tom Strong, Chief Executive Officer of the Skokomish Indian Tribe, which manages 2,000 acres of Washington forests for its 800 tribal members. "We're not cutting and planting, seeking to develop our lands into a commodity. Instead, we're doing it to restore the forest."
Over the past 100 years, the two dams on the North Fork Skokomish River have had a major impact on the entire ecosystem of Skokomish land. "We want to restore the entire Hood Canal watershed," Tom says. The forests are just one part.
Selling wood from Douglas fir trees the tribe selectively thinned will help fund this restoration. "We don't have an endless amount of money," Tom says. "But we would like to think we've got an endless amount of time."
Ben Hayes - Co-owner, Hyla Woods, Cherry Grove, Oregon
Ben Hayes is a sixth-generation forester who manages Hyla Woods, outside Cherry Grove, Oregon, with his father, Peter. He is also a sustainable-forestry consultant. At Hyla Woods, the Hayes experiment with selective thinning and patch cutting, instead of clear-cutting, to foster diversity of tree species, ages, and sizes.
"When you look 100 years out, having greater complexity in terms of species and the structure of the forest, you can increase the forest's resilience in the face of extreme weather and drought," he says.
"We're working toward a model of forestry that you could practice for the perpetual future,” Ben says. “It's a model that lifts up both rural and urban communities and the ecosystems we rely on."
Richard and Ann Hanschu - Owners, Doneen, Forest Grove, Oregon
Ann Hanschu's father first bought land outside Forest Grove, Oregon, in 1956. Ann grew up trailing her father around the forest, learning from him. The Hanschus now have three children, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Richard says, "We're planting trees that our grandchildren will see the profits from — not even our children. It's long-range thinking."
"A lot of the timber is older,” Ann adds. “We're laddering it with trees of different age groups — some 30-40 years old, some 10-20 years old — so the land can continue to produce a sustainable amount of wood."
Herman Flamenco - Central Cascades Conservation Forester, The Nature Conservancy, Cle Elum, Washington
"We know historically that the stands we're working on were overstocked," says Herman Flamenco, Central Cascades conservation forester for the Nature Conservancy, of the 50,000 acres outside Cle Elum, Washington, the organization manages. Thinning the trees welcomes in light and biodiversity.
Some loggers in the region worry that this low-impact approach to forestry yields less lumber, and less profit, than clear-cutting. One local outfit took on this labor-intensive challenge, selectively harvesting Doug fir trees from steep slopes.
"Western Washington is wetter. In our dry climate, there's less moisture and increased fire risk," Herman says. "As we look at climate change, it's just going to get dryer. We want to make sure we can keep our forests around."
In the 1950s, back when people wore fancy hats to the airport, PDX’s main terminal had brown terrazzo floors.
By the 1970s, blue carpet sporting the old Port of Portland logo replaced the terrazzo. The airport was so concerned about keeping the carpet clean that we banned gum-chewing indoors.
In the 1980s, PDX replaced the ski-chalet paneling in the Clocktower Plaza with high ceilings and skylights, but kept the blue carpet.
SRG Partnership, a Portland-based architecture firm, designed the pattern for the now-iconic carpet on the layout of the airport runways.
The Clocktower Plaza, post-1988, with the iconic carpet.
The Clocktower Plaza (before its demolition in 2021-22) with the new carpet.
The flexible interior spaces were designed with the future of travel in mind — and to give you plenty of comfortable spots to recharge before your next flight.
Two permanent installations from acclaimed contemporary artist Jacob Hashimoto hang like clouds above the concourse’s common areas.
Shops and restaurants are clustered together like city blocks, with a pedestrian-friendly scale and lots of room to spread out.
PDX’s swanky new bar, Juliett, honors women in aviation with mid-20th-century style, top-class cocktails, and local wines and beers.
Sky-high windows fill the interior with daylight while maximizing the concourse extension’s energy efficiency.
At the east end of the concourse, a wall of windows opens up this epic view of Mt. Hood, where you’ll definitely want to pose for a photo before takeoff.
The Concourse E extension project is the dedicated home for Southwest Airlines at PDX, with six new gates.
Remember the view of Mt. Hood on Concourse E? It’s coming back, brighter than ever.
Tillamook’s menu includes the best of the classics with fried cheese curds and a signature grilled cheese.
Calliope takes its name from one of Oregon’s native hummingbirds and showcases creative and playful keepsakes.
Grab your favorite book, magazine or newspaper at Your Northwest Travel Mart.
Concourse B's 38-foot-high ceilings and 6,900 square feet of windows don't just let light in. They let you watch the airport in action. "I think this airport gave us a chance to celebrate the romance of flight," says Gene Sandoval of ZGF, the architecture firm that designed the new concourse.
ZGF Architects was inspired to bring the Pacific Northwest’s natural world indoors. You can contemplate the plants hanging from the ceiling and the Oregon white-oak walls as you relax in B’s comfy new seats. (Bonus: More power adapters!)
RYAN! Feddersen’s art installation, which fills the concourse, is made up of three interconnected pieces. The “Sentinel” landscapes and abstract “Habitat Tiles” are pictured here.
RYAN! is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. She draws inspiration from the region’s traditions and landscape for these pieces, which include the gently rolling “Cloud Walk” overhead.
Nicole and David Mouton, in partnership with HMSHost, opened an outpost of Portland’s beloved Screen Door Restaurant on Concourse B. Find Screen Door’s legendary fried chicken and waffles here from breakfast until dinnertime.
Sam and Nick Purvis, the brothers behind Good Coffee, source fresh coffee beans and teas from all over the world. Pick up a pastry or a bag of beans, too!
Our new rental car center opened in November 2021.
All rental car brands are now on-site at PDX – no more shuttles to pick up your car.
Perez Westbrooks' colorful digital mural celebrates Northwest flora.
Ben Butler's swirling wood sculpture is made from reclaimed Douglas fir.
The new facility also adds 30 ADA parking spots, more than 30 electric vehicle charging stations, and 2,200 long-term parking spaces to the airport.
Adding more lanes to our new, relocated exit toll plaza helps you leave PDX more quickly.
Every design decision we make is about keeping the heart and soul of PDX intact. You’ll see homages to all the things you love about our city and region in the new airport designs.
You’ll notice subtle nods to the Pacific Northwest landscape throughout the space. Natural light, living trees, and native Oregon foliage may give you the feeling of walking through a park.
The new terminal’s wooden ceiling, made from sustainably grown, local Doug fir, might remind you of daylight filtering through forest canopies.
This will be your new view when entering the spacious ticket lobby at PDX. The nine-acre wood roof is so distinctive you’ll be able to spot it from the air.
The ripples and currents of pristine Northwest rivers inspired the new terminal’s curvy profile.
Expanding the heart of PDX creates more space for our beloved local shops and restaurants — not to mention local humans (and visitors, too).