From Steinway to sawdust: The fight to save Alaska’s last mill
For decades, specialized wood from Alaska’s Tongass National Forest has shaped the sound of Steinway pianos and Martin guitars and strengthened everything from NASA wind tunnels to helicopter blades. Much of that wood comes from one family-owned mill: Viking Lumber on Prince of Wales Island. Now, a broken promise from Washington bureaucrats threatens to silence the saws and erase a legacy built on generations of grit and sacrifice.
In this month’s episode of American Heroes, PLF’s Kathy Hoekstra sits down with Sarah Dahlstrom, daughter of Viking Lumber founder Kirk Dahlstrom. Today, she works alongside her dad as a fierce advocate for Alaska’s timber workers and proudly discusses her family’s uniquely American story:
— In 1994, her father moved the family from the Lower 48 to the forests of southeast Alaska to revive a bankrupt mill.
— They built Viking Lumber from the ground up in a rural region with few opportunities, creating year-round jobs and uplifting lives, livelihoods, and communities.
— Viking is the last remaining mill in the U.S. able to provide the wood that gives Steinway pianos their world-famous sound.
“Timber has given me a lot of opportunities. It’s in my blood,” Sarah says. “I watched my dad stay up late trying to solve all the issues. It’s important to our family—and to his employees—that he can keep fighting for them.”
Today, that fight is more urgent than ever.
In 2016, the U.S. Forest Service promised sustainable levels of old-growth timber essential to the industry. Instead, the agency slashed harvests to a fraction of what the law requires—effectively starving the region’s last remaining mills. Then in 2021, with a mere guidance document, the agency ended large-scale old-growth sales entirely.
“We are a very small industry now,” Sarah explains. “Southeast Alaska’s timber sector is about five percent of what it once was. But it still provides family-wage jobs, and most of our employees have been with us for over 20 years. These are real livelihoods.”
It’s not just Alaska, either. Steinway’s New York factory is home to 200 union workers who depend on Viking’s accessibility to the Tongass Forest’s specialized spruce.
That’s why Viking Lumber, the Alaska Forest Association, and other local timber operators teamed up with Pacific Legal Foundation in Alaska Forest Association v. Rollins. Victory in this federal lawsuit would not only end what Sarah calls “the fight of my dad’s life,” but it also would protect the future of her family’s business, community—and her children.
“I want my kids to have the chance to work at Viking Lumber someday and continue what our community has built.”
As Sarah emphasizes, this fight isn’t just about 50 jobs at one mill—it’s about the future of entire communities. “One agency should not be allowed to create or stop an entire industry based on a press release,” she says.
Listen now to Sarah’s full story about what’s at stake when federal agencies abandon their promises.
If you’ve experienced government overreach like the stories featured in American Heroes, contact us at .
American Heroes with Kathy Hoekstra is a monthly radio report from Pacific Legal Foundation, airing on American Radio Journal. Each episode defends liberty, empowers individuals, and celebrates the heroes who stand up for what’s right.
