Pennsylvania’s Healthy Hardwood Forests –
Sustainable Forestry in Action
Are you concerned about logging and the environment? Don’t be. The Pennsylvania lumber and wood industry is a leader in sustainable forestry. Every day we use the latest scientific methods to protect our forests and ensure that they will always be there, healthier and more valuable than ever. A heritage from the past, for the future.
More than half of Pennsylvania — nearly 17 million acres — is forested. The total forested area is essentially the same as in 1989 and more than it was one hundred years ago.
A majority of Pennsylvania’s forests are currently dominated by concentrations of large, high quality and commercially valuable hardwood sawtimber that is 80 to 120 years old.
The current sawtimber volume in Pennsylvania is 89 billion board feet, the highest recorded since the inception of the U.S. Forest Service inventory. Sawtimber volume has increased 18 percent since 1989. Annual volume growth in our forests is still more than twice the volume harvested to support industry.
Living in the present and looking to the future, it’s important we recognize and understand what it means that forests are a renewable resource. It means we can always enjoy the benefits and value of the forests as long as we faithfully employ what we’ve learned and practice modern forestry methods.
Sustainable Forestry Overview
- Employs latest tools, technology and science
- Views forest as an integrated ecosystem
- Uses state-of-the-art practices to deliver a continual yield of products and benefits
- Concerned with all parts of the forest — trees, smaller plants, soils, wildlife and water
- Promotes regeneration and value by carefully choosing which trees to harvest and which to leave growing
- Manages water run-off to prevent erosion, and creates buffer strips to protect streams and wet areas
Benefits of Sustainable Harvesting
- Improves wildlife habitat
- Allows more light to reach the forest floor
- Creates more room for young, healthy trees to grow
- Removes diseased trees
- Creates hiking trails and roads
The Environmental Power of Young Trees
- Sustainable harvesting of trees improves the environment through “carbon sequestration.” During photosynthesis, young trees use energy from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into food and give off oxygen. Older trees become carbon neutral. So harvesting mature trees lets younger trees thrive, reduce carbon dioxide and create more clean air.