That’s a question I’m afraid we’ll be asking more and more in the decades to come —and the answer won’t be that they’ve been turned into paper or furniture or homes (well, at least not directly, when it comes to homes).

In 2005, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service study found that the privately owned “forests that provide about 90% of timber harvested in the US; nearly 30% of all fresh water, and the key to conservation of many fish and wildlife species are increasingly likely to experience housing development.”

According to the Forest Service, “Every day, America loses more than 4,000 acres of open space to development; that’s more than 3 acres per minute, and the rate of conversion is getting faster all the time.”

That’s right — one of the largest threats to the future of our nation’s forests is sprawl, not paper and other wood products. In fact, companies like Finch Paper have a vested interest in seeing that we NEVER run out of healthy, growing, perpetually renewing forests. That’s why our foresters utilize science-based forest management to help Mother Nature continually replenish her trees. Every time trees are harvested for products, we make sure that the seeds are naturally sown for a new forest on that very same plot of land. Once a forest is removed for residential or commercial development, however, it’s quite likely going to be a very long time before the forest returns. Instead, Americans will increasingly turn to other countries’ forests to meet our wood needs — some of these countries use far less expertise in responsible forestry and have less stringent laws protecting air and water.

So, how do we “save” the forests here and abroad? That’s a complicated question, with broad societal implications. Stay tuned.

Tags: Forest Future, Harvesting