WESTERN HEMLOCK IS THE SECOND MOST ABUNDANT SOFTWOOD SPECIES IN THE WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA BUT IS RELATIVELY LOWER-DENSITY, LOWER-VALUE, AND CERTAINLY UNDERUTILIZED. WEAK DOMESTIC DEMAND OF WOOD DELAYS ITS COMMERCIAL THINNING, WHICH EXPOSES HIGH RISK FOR FOREST HEALTH AND ECOLOGY. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO MANUFACTURE VALUED-ADDED WOOD PRODUCTS SOURCED FROM WESTERN HEMLOCK BY AN INNOVATIVE AND EFFICIENT HYDRO-THERMO-MECHANICALLY (HTM) PROCESS WITH A CHEMICAL PRETREATMENT. THE PROJECT LOOKS TO IMPROVE THE WOOD QUALITY OF THE LOWER VALUED AND UNDERUTILIZED WOOD BY A TWO-STEP PROCESS: THE CHEMICAL PRETREATMENT TO MAKE WOOD MORE POROUS AND LESS RIGID AND THE HTM PROCESSING TO DENSIFY WOOD UNDER LOWER TEMPERATURE AND SHORTER TIME. THE HTM MODIFIED WOOD IS EXPECTED TO HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED PROPERTIES, INCLUDING REDUCED WATER ABSORPTION, BETTER DIMENSIONAL STABILITY, ENHANCED MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE, AND INCREASED DECAY RESISTANCE, AND HAVE A PROMISING MARKET FOR EXTERIOR AND STRUCTURAL APPLICATION. AFTER TESTING THE PROCESS AND THE RESULTING WOOD PROPERTIES, A TECHNO-ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT (TEA) WILL BE PERFORMED TO ANALYZE THE VIABILITY FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION OF THE POTENTIAL VALUE-ADDED WOOD PRODUCTS. DEVELOPING GREATER DEMAND FOR WESTERN HEMLOCK WILL HELP MEET A SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC NEED FOR IMPROVED FOREST HEALTH, AND WILL PROVIDE NEW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IN RURAL AND TIMBER-DEPENDENT COMMUNITIES.