The PA Forest Products Association provided this appreciation for National Forest Products Week October 19-25--
As we celebrate National Forest Products Week, we should be proud that the United States is not only the breadbasket of the world, but it's also the planet's number one producer of wood and wood products.
Pennsylvania ranks #1 in the nation in the production of hardwood lumber such as soft maple, black cherry and red oak.
Because of the efforts and dedication of America's 10 million forest landowners as well as the companies who help process wood products, our forestland in the US has remained constant at 755 million acres for more than a hundred years.
Nationally, we have 20 percent more trees today than we did on the first Earth Day in 1970, while our population has increased by more than 50 percent.
And while our demand for wood products continues to grow, the volume of wood on US forestland has doubled since 1953.
In Pennsylvania, the ratio of new growth to removal is 2:1 – meaning that the forest is growing twice as much as wood as is being removed annually.
Pennsylvania has 16.7 million acres of forests and 70 percent of this is privately owned.
The amount of forested acreage nationally has remained constant despite our growing population and appetite for wood products because our private forests are managed and maintained by families and companies who are dedicated to keeping their property in forest use far into the future.
From the earliest days of our country, the entire world has benefitted from U.S. wood. Our free and open markets together with a regulatory environment that recognizes the contributions of the private forest landowner allows us to sustain and enjoy our forests indefinitely, not only providing U.S. wood to the world but keeping our forests intact and beautiful while serving as that economic engine.
The state’s forest products industry employs about 60,000 individuals or about 10 percent of the state’s manufacturing workforce. While these employment numbers still lag behind the industry’s employment before the recession, jobs are coming back.
Trees are a renewable resource that is naturally beautiful, carbon neutral and easily recyclable.
As we celebrate National Forest Products Week, let's recognize the contributions of the millions of private forest landowners and their sustainable practices that ensure that our forests remain national treasures.
For more information, visit the PA Forest Products Association website or contact Paul Lyskava, Executive Director, PFPA, by calling 717-901-0420 or send email to: plyskava@prforestproducts.org.
Related PA Forestry Links:
Shale Gas Monitoring Program
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