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Some Forest Facts:
- U.S. forest land consists of 747 million acres, which is 33% of the total U.S. land area and 8.8% of global forest land.
- 25% of U.S. land area (504 million acres) is available to produce timber resources for commercial forest products.
- Private landowners, roughly 10 million, own 58% of forests, while 29% is public ownership and 13% is owned by the forest products industry.
- The U.S. has some of the best tree-growing land in the world and today, net forest growth surpasses harvest by 47%.
- It is estimated that in the next 5 decades at least 17 million acres of forest land will be lost permanently to urbanization and development.
- Forests are renewable and we have the science and experience necessary to manage this resource in a safe, cost-effective, attractive and socially acceptable manner.
- Forests in the U.S. cover 70 percent as much land as they did in 1600.
- About 1/3 of the entire U.S. land mass is covered with forest.
- Each year 1.6 billion trees are planted in the U.S., which is about 6 for every tree we use.
- More trees are growing in America's forests today than at any other time since the 1890's.
- Standing timber volume per acre in U.S. forests today is 30 percent greater than in 1952.
- Today, annual forest growth rates in commercial forests exceed harvest and losses to disease and
insects by 33 percent.
- Wood is a very energy efficient material to produce, process and transport. Cement, steel and plastics
require factories that consume far more energy, usually fossil fuels, to produce.
- Wood is produced in a factory powered entirely by solar energy--the forest!
All of the above are courtesy of the USDA Forest Service.
Some Forest Myths and Facts:
Myth: A natural forest supports more ecological diversity than a managed forest.
Fact: Managed forests, even those with some clearcutting, often produce more biodiversity than completely natural
forests, according to U.S. Forest Service studies in the Lake States and New England. Even tree farm plantations
contain a rich mosaic of plant and animal life.
Myth: Forest management harms wildlife.
Fact: Forest management helps wildlife. Forest management creates openings that stimulate the growth of food
services - which is the prime reason why forest species such as elk, deer, turkey and antelope are far more
plentiful today than earlier in the century.
Myth: We're running out of old growth trees in our ancient forests.
Fact: In the U.S. today there are 13.2 million acres of old growth, i.e., large trees 200 years of age or older.
The vast majority of these trees - comprising an area the size of New Jersey and Massachusetts combined - will
remain in their natural condition and will never be harvested due to legal and regulatory prohibitions
on logging, road building and even fire fighting.
Myth: Clearcutting, the practice of harvesting most trees in a given area, destroys the forest.
Fact: Clearcutting is a sound practice that benefits future forests. By mimicking natural wildfires,
clearcutting is widely recognized by forest scientists and even by conservation groups such as the Environmental
Defense Fund, American Forests, and the Society of American Foresters as an ecologically sound technique for
reforesting many softwood species. That's because conifer seedlings typically require sunlight from an open canopy
and cannot survive in shade.
Myth: We only have 5% of the original ancient forests left that once covered the Pacific Northwest in the
pre-European settlement era.
Fact: This figure wrongly assumes that the coastal Northwest was covered with old trees before the arrival of
settlers from the East. According to U.S. government studies, no more than a third of the region's forest was covered
with old-growth trees at any time. Natural wildfires and fires set by Native Americans routinely cleared vast
swaths of old forests.
Wood Pallets and the Environment:
Pallets made from wood meet the four R's criteria: They are reusable, repairable, recyclable and they come from
a renewable resource.
The pallet industry receives an estimated 170 million wood pallets for repair and recycling each year and that
number is growing according to the Virginia Tech Center for Forest Products Marketing.
Wood fiber created by grinding up worn out pallets is used to create products such as fuel pellets, insulation, pressed
logs, decorative landscape mulches, home building materials and many other environmentally friendly items.
According to a recent Modern Materials Handling pallet user survey, 73% of pallets are recycled and are one of the most
recycled products in the U.S. Aluminum cans are recycled at a rate of 66.5%, paper at 50% and plastic recycling is still under 20%.
Wood pallets and containers use derivative lumber that is strong and durable, but has low cosmetic value. It would likely be discarded if it were not for wood packaging usage.
If a pallet does end up in a landfill, it is biodegradable. Less than 3% of the nearly 700 million pallets manufactured and repaired ever end up in landfills. That's according to a study by Virginia Tech and the USDA Forestry Service.
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