Allied Angle Sustainable Trees: Disproving Forestry Myths

Sustainable Trees: Disproving Forestry Myths

By MATT GABLER, Executive Director Pennsylvania Forest Products Association

Shattering the conventional wisdom that the interests of industry and the environment are perpetually divergent, the forest products industry demonstrates that working forests are an environmental and economic “win-win.” While members of the forest products community understand and take pride in this, we must ask, “How can we succeed in earning the trust of the general public who subscribe to conventional wisdom or who believe the myth that cutting trees is bad for our environment?”

I am pleased to report that conservation organizations are stepping forward and providing a great answer to this question. Several conservation organizations actively recognize commercial timber harvesters as invaluable partners in the pursuit of improved habitat and forest health. As they do so, they provide an exceptional testimonial to the environmental benefits of forest management.

In partnership with several conservation groups, including the National Fish and Wildlife Federation and the Ruffed Grouse Society, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Bureau of State Parks announced it is incorporating “Dynamic Forest Restoration Blocks” into its management of state park lands; a way of introducing variation into the landscape to improve habitat and diversity in the forest. Resembling a checkerboard, these non-contiguous harvests will improve forest health and wildlife habitat.

While state forest lands have always been managed as working forests and an indispensable part of their mission, it is difficult to overstate the significance of this shift in policy at the Bureau of State Parks. Previously, state park lands had not been actively managed. The result has been a decline in forest health and habitat and a loss of diversity among plants and animals – especially birds. The driving factor that led the Bureau to shift its policy? Campers at state park campgrounds have complained about the lack of birds near their campsites. The conservation organizations looking to loggers as the solution to bring birds back to our parks is a monumental endorsement of the importance of the forest products industry to improving and maintaining forest health!

This recognition that working forests optimize recreation, wildlife, habitat, and environmental sustainability is important because it provides independent confirmation that the benefits of the forest products industry extend well beyond the family-sustaining jobs and high-demand commodities our supply chain produces every day. While we love to share the good news about the forest products industry’s positive contributions to habitat and forest health, we are thrilled when credible conservation partners such as the Ruffed Grouse Society are willing to confirm what we are saying, and we are eager to share this example as evidence that our industry’s presence is vital to improving the landscape.

Of course, the positive environmental impact of the forest products industry extends well past the end of the logging job. The products our industry creates are not only of the highest quality that consumers demand; they are also among the greenest building materials on earth and the only materials that can credibly claim to be carbon negative.

As the association conducting statewide advocacy and government affairs on behalf of Pennsylvania’s entire forest products supply chain, the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association (PFPA) works daily to share this information with policymakers in state and local governments to help inform their decisions.

Of course, we must also get these facts in front of consumers – which is why we are so enthusiastic about supporting the Real American Hardwood Coalition. Several years in the making, 2022 brings the unveiling of the campaign’s consumer-oriented website, www.RealAmericanHardwood.com. As a state-level partner with allied organizations across the country, such as NHLA and the Hardwood Federation, we are proud to work as ambassadors on behalf of everyone who depends on healthy, well-managed forests and the high-quality, environmentally friendly products our forests make possible.

Matt Gabler is the executive director of the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association; a membership association focused on state-level advocacy and regulatory affairs for Pennsylvania’s Forest Products Industry. He can be reached at matt@paforestproducts.org.

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