Trees are the ultimate natural resource
What many don’t realize is that the benefits of actively managed forests are critical for urban communities as well. Working forests filter almost 30% of our drinking water, provide habitat for 60% of our at-risk species, and sequester enough carbon to offset 10-15% of our industrial carbon emissions annually.
Wood is a renewable and sustainable material that stores carbon – as living, growing trees in the forest, but also as lumber in our homes and buildings, wood in our kitchen table, and the more than 5,000 paper and packaging products we use every day. In fact, engineers are even beginning to use timber as a renewable resource for tall buildings.
By providing a continuing cycle of planting, growing, and harvesting, active forest management actually maximizes forests’ ability to clean our air, clean our water, and provide a mosaic of landscapes for wildlife.