Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative releases Vision document and announces Dovetail Partners as fiscal sponsor, ongoing leadership by MassTimber@MSU
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EmailWith participation by ~150 representatives of sectors across the mass timber value chain, the Collaborative has produced “Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative: A Regional Vision,” released on April 2, 2026, at the International Mass Timber Conference.
The Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative gathered more than 100 people in-person and online on April 2 to release its “Regional Vision” and announce next steps for the initiative, which seeks to envision and realize a regionally specific and coordinated mass timber economy across eight states.
MassTimber@MSU (Michigan State University) founded the Collaborative in 2024 in coordination with leads from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. These leads recruited participants from across the mass timber value chain in their states who convened first online and then in person in Detroit in October 2024 to explore what a thriving regional mass timber economy could look like.
Since then, the Collaborative presented a draft “Regional Vision” at the International Mass Timber Conference in 2025. Following that presentation, the document has been refined with stakeholder feedback, culminating in the “Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative: A Regional Vision,” released on April 2, 2026, at the International Mass Timber Conference and virtually. The document, which outlines objectives, tactics, roles, and next steps for implementation.
“The Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative: Regional Vision represents input and participation by about 150 representatives of sectors across the mass timber value chain from the Lakes States,” said Sandra Lupien, Director, MassTimber@MSU, at Michigan State University. “We are thrilled to release the document – a springboard for actions that we believe will catalyze and connect mass timber demand and production – from forests to buildings – enabling a mass timber economy that reflects the unique forest, workforce, and construction contexts of the Great Lakes Region.”
The Collaborative also announced Dovetail Partners as fiscal sponsor, serving as the administrative home and providing administrative and financial oversight for the Great Lakes Mass Timber Collaborative. Dovetail Partners is a 501(c)(3) organization and a respected facilitator and resource provider in the forestry and forest products space, with presence and reach across the region and beyond. 
"It is an honor for Dovetail Partners to be able to provide a home for this work to continue," said Kathryn Fernholz, President & CEO of Dovetail Partners. "Dovetail has been involved with supporting the realization of benefits from mass timber since the early days, and we've been on board with the Collaborative from day one – we're excited to see the momentum continue to build and to be able to do our part."
With this support from Dovetail Partners, MassTimber@MSU’s Director, Sandra Lupien, who has facilitated, will continue to serve as the Collaborative’s facilitator.
The release of the Regional Vision marks a key step toward aligning partners across the region and advancing a coordinated approach to building a thriving mass timber economy in the Great Lakes states.
Learn more about the Collaborative and get access to the Vision here.
