Sustainable Forestry

Wood is widely considered to be the most durable material for construction. For centuries, wood has been the material of choice for homeowners and builders. Today, even though there are such advanced building materials as concrete, steel, and plastic available, people still choose wood.

As a building material, wood’s beauty, character, charm, and versatility make it a traditional favorite among builders, remodelers, and homebuyers. In fact, over twenty-five billion square feet of wood is used every year in new home construction in the United States, and over ninety percent of all North American homes are made from wood.

Wood is derived from trees, which first must be logged. Due to the growing concern for the environment, logging and the forest product industry came under fire for several years. Was there a way to balance the need for wood and the need to preserve the environment? One organization was founded to do just that.

The Wood Promotion Network
In 2000, the Wood Promotion Network was formed to actively promote the environmental benefits of using wood for construction. A coalition of more than three hundred and twenty major forest companies, suppliers and supporters across North America, the WPN promotes the idea that "Wood Is Good."

According to Dr. Patrick Moore, one of the co-founders of Greenpeace and a consultant to the Wood Promotion Network, wood is "by far the most abundant renewable material in the world. Along with that, wood takes less energy to produce. When you make steel and concrete, you need a lot of energy usually in the form of fossil fuels, high greenhouse gas emissions, whereas wood is made in the forest with renewable solar power, and you put those two things together: the fact that wood is renewable and takes less energy to make, it is the most environmentally-friendly building material in the world."

It’s in the forests where the biggest changes to the forest product industry have occurred. Whereas in the past, whole areas of timber would be clear-cut, now there is a system at work that cuts a few trees for logging and leaves other to grow and serve as habitat.

Sustainable Forestry
Sustainable forestry is a system that maintains the forest in such a state that leaves suitable habitat for all of the species that live there. Before logging, foresters carefully survey the area to be harvested. Certain trees are picked to be logged, but other trees that represent all of the species and sizes in the area are prescribed to be retained. Additional trees are left because they’ll serve as a habitat for wildlife, such as a nest for eagles or a den for bears.

Once the area is selectively logged, the remaining trees are left to grow and other trees are planted, thereby creating a sustainable resource that can be both enjoyed and harvested by future generations.