Birch Bark

I'm not sure I can help you out much - but I did find out a lot about White Birch Bark!

Because of it's beauty, the white Birch tree is thought to have magical properties. In Europe, brooms of white birch branches are used to sweep away evil away. The Birch was a popular choice for pagan Maypole rites. The Ojibway have a story about a sleepy Birch tree who failed to guard their magician-diety Nanabush's meal. Nanabush picked up a pine branch and gave the lazy Birch a good thrashing - the black marks in the bark are supposed to be the reminders of that whipping.

Birch bark is used in numerous crafts, the most popular being creating Birch Bark canoes. There are numerous websites devoted to instructions, DVDs, and materials if that is your desire.

There is a nice article here about the Native American Uses of Birch Bark

Maybe the Birch really is magical - scientists are beginning to investigate it as a cure for prostate cancer and melanoma. Already you can buy herbal remedies made with birch bark. There are a couple of very good articles about cancer and birch bark here:

Birch Bark has an Anti-Cancer bite
Birch Bark - Prostate Cancer Treatment?

Although I found several sellers of birch bark on line, and many more selling various birch bark products and crafts, I did not find any in your area. The two closest were both in New York (not very close at all) but here they are just in case:

Adirondack White Birch in Albany, NY
Farm and Field in Laurens, NY

I also found numerous references to eBay sellers with White Birch Bark for crafters. If you were going to purchase online, this would probably be my own personal top recommendation.

If you are still hoping to find local sources, I have a few suggestions. Find out if there is a local woodcrafters hobby association - check hobby and craft stores for information. If there are local sources, they would know, or perhaps even have a member who has it available. If there are any Native American crafts stores or tribal offices, trading posts, museums, etc., they may have some suggestions or a source. If there is one of those nifty little weekly newspapers that are all want ads, you just might get lucky there.