The wood was brought in beginning in 2003. See this old thread Krazulya Pear
Bernie was a NAFEX member at that time. He worked with the proper people in Canada. Im not sure how they came to Alaska and the rest of the USA but likely in a similar fashion. Russia was going through near chaos at that time.
This is where they came from in Siberia SRIHS | Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS)