Forests Forever

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We use forest products every day. Its estimate the average American uses six trees worth of paper per year.[1] Forests provide us with building materials, fuel, and paper products. Our forests also provide ecosystem services in the way of filtering the air we breathe, facilitating water exchange between soil and air, and provide habitat.

Because of our high reliance on forest products, there is a high demand for them. Worldwide it is estimated that an area the size of a football field is cleared every 3-seconds.[2] The reality is we will not stop using forest products. So, what we can do is reduce our impact on timber extraction.

There are steps we can take as consumers to reduce the impact on our forests.

1. Recycle paper products

2. Make 2-sided copies

3. Reuse old office paper as scrap paper

4. Use email instead of print mail

5. Store information as digital copies instead of printing copies

6. Purchase forest products (timber and paper) with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label. The FSC has created responsible forest management standards. These standards are voluntary adopted by forest managers. To date, at least 380 million acres of forest are FSC certified.[3]

7. Reuse building materials for construction

8. Do not buy tropical woods unless guaranteed harvest from agroforestry planation (ebony, mahogany, rosewood, teak)

9. Patronize restaurants and buy products that are not produced on deforested land (i.e. beef, coffee, bananas)

10. Contact your congressional representative – ask them to support forest protection.

If we all take these little steps to reduce the impact on timber extraction big change will occur. Look at your life and see where you can change the way you interact with forest products. Encourage your family, friends, co-workers, and employers to take action to reduce their impact on timber extraction.


[1] Forest Stewardship Council. n.d. “What we do”. https://us.fsc.org/en-us/what-we-do
[2] Radcliff, Matthew and Belward, Alan. 2011. “Global Rate of Deforestation 2011”. Goddard Media Studios. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10873
[3] Forest Stewardship Council. n.d. “What we do”.

Location: Oregon, USA

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