By BUD SARGENT

Mining Journal

Managing Editor

MARQUETTE — A bit of history was made recently east of Marquette in the Luce County village of Newberry. In April, the people responsible for designing and constructing the building that houses the Michigan Department of Natural Resources customer service center came together to mark the facility’s grand opening.

Why so much fuss over the opening of a simple 10,000 square foot government structure? Because it is the first in the Upper Peninsula to be built using a material known as mass timber.

“It’s a beautiful building,” said Aaron Crawford, DNR administrator who works inside. “It’s doing great. We’ve had no problems.”

Mass timber is lumber constructed using layered pieces of word that are glued together under pressure. The result is a

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