Sustainable Forestry and
the Hardwood Industry

With the environment being such a hot topic these days, more and more of our customers are concerned about the origin of their lumber. Here are some of our thoughts.

Does it come from a sustainable forest?

Although not all lumber comes from sustainable forests, we can answer that generally, yes, the majority of our North American lumber comes from sustainable forests, and that our producers do a good job of cutting timber and managing the forests in which they work.

It may seem inconvenient to have to prove to anyone that our lumber comes from a sustainable source. Most lumbermen understand that hardwoods are likely the world’s most renewable and sustainable resource, period. But these days, marketing has become more complicated so we need to adapt.

One way to convey to our customers that we are providing material from a sustainable forest is to utilize the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certification. We are currently pursuing FSC Certification at Banks Hardwoods in order to do just that. But we also purchase a strong percentage of our material from sustainable forest lands that are not, and may never be, FSC Certified.

It’s good to let our customers know that we too are concerned about quality forestry practices; that we are well informed and doing our best to make sure we favor those companies with the most reputable practices with our purchases.

What exactly is Sustainable Forestry?

Sustainability essentially boils down in the simplest terms to not taking more timber from the forest than what it will produce over the long term. A recent article in the Hardwood Review likened sustainable forestry to a savings account. When you withdraw less than you accrue in interest, your account balance grows. If you eat into the principal often and deeply enough, you won’t be left with much. There is more to it than that, because the analogy is directed more at the quantity of timber in a forest, not necessarily the quality. Ideally, it would be nice to improve the quality and productivity of a forest while at the same time maintaining or growing the quantity produced with each cutting. We can accomplish this with responsible forestry management practices.

Sustainable Forestry is an in-depth and complicated science. Some of the basics of Sustainable Forestry include:

Not over-cutting the stand for short-term gains.
Being extremely careful in how we harvest so as not to damage or cause unnecessary harm to the smaller trees not yet ready to harvest.
Leaving quality seed trees for the best natural future regeneration even though they may be ready for harvest.
Thinning the forest to allow just the right amount of sunlight through the canopy for maximum growth.
Culling the diseased trees or occasionally doing what’s called Timber Stand Improvement (TSI). Some trees are not the best specimens or are not in the best places for maximum long term production and should be removed.
Leaving some of the tops from the harvest laying around to decay on the forest floor to feed the soil for existing trees and thereby also creating habitats for microorganisms.
Leaving some trees and cover that are known to have nests or shelter for wildlife.
Managing in such a way as to protect the quality of any nearby watersheds such as ponds, streams or rivers.

Sustainable forestry practices in the short run don’t always bring the landowner the most money or the sawmill operator the highest productivity rates; or even us, the customer, the finest widths, lengths or best color. Why? Because they are not cutting just the biggest and best trees. They are cutting strategically, for the long-term productivity of the site.

However, in the long run, if these good management practices are performed consistently, the quality and quantity of timber coming from these same parcels will continue to get better and better and will certainly outperform any high grading activity. Everyone will be better off. Sustainable management takes more time and expense to perform, but it’s worth it.

What is “high grading” and what are the consequences of this practice?

“High grading” is, in some ways, the opposite of sustainable forest management. It consists of cutting timber in a way to maximize yield and value at the time of harvest, with little regard for long term health or productivity of the forest. Generally, high grading involves over-cutting a forest as well. Loggers cut the forest largely based on a certain diameter and above and/or cut the biggest and best trees. Sometimes over-cutting is done, taking a lot of the smaller diameter high quality trees that are still many years from maturity.

The yield of a cutting like this might look good on paper at the mill and coming through the planer in our warehouses, but what will that forest look like when the loggers are finished? It might look like it had a bad hair cut! The forest will be damaged and result in poor future harvests.

How do we encourage better sustainability practices?

Some people might be tempted to call for even tighter governmental regulation. Not only would strict sustainable forestry standards be impossible to enforce, if history has taught us anything, it’s that however well-intentioned, governmental regulations frequently do more harm than good.

Human nature would suggest that if the mills owned all the lands from which they cut timber, they might be more inclined to practice sustainable forestry as a rule. But the reality is most of the timber land is in private hands and many jobs become available via bid sales. When the timber automatically goes to the highest bidder, it’s rarely conducive to managing the forest in the best way. If the land owner does not communicate well with those cutting the timber, is unaware of good forestry techniques or is just not paying attention, the forest will likely suffer the consequences.

The answer partly lies in increasing awareness and education across our industry, and laying down our own informed sustainable forestry practices well ahead of government legislated regulations.

Sustainable forestry is a philosophy that is pursued and followed by conscientious producers who have a deep respect for our resource as well as the overall environment. Mills that don’t own their own lands don’t have as great an opportunity to practice sustainable forestry, but they still have opportunities to work with their landowner clients and educate them as to the benefits of good forestry practices. Every time they are in the woods buying or cutting timber they have an opportunity to set a good example, build their reputations and do good things to make a positive difference.

How is the industry doing overall?

Fortunately, most mills and loggers do a very good job of taking care of the forests in which they work and there is a favorable balance of sustainable practice versus high grading. This has to be the case, because despite the obvious pressure on the resource, the volume of U.S. land classed as timberland has increased 5% over the last 20 years. Our private timberlands are increasing in growing stock volumes at the rate of 1.3% a year and the average diameter of saw timber has actually gone up as well in the last 50 years (Hardwood Review Weekly, Vol. 24, Issue 32).

Our hardwood forests are a powerfully renewable resource and a great gift to mankind. Those who are participating in voluntary sustainability practices and those that are pursing various certifications stand a good chance of being rewarded as time goes on. These assertive activities are shedding a better light on our industry and show that our hardwood resource is indeed sustainable.