Sponsored Newspapers In Education Content
| SUNDAY,
APRIL 24, 2016
7
Products made
from trees are
essential to
our lives. On
average, each
American uses
three pounds of
wood products per
day. Almost twice as
much wood is recovered
and used today than in the middle
of the last century. Can you guess which
of the following products contain wood
(check for the answer below):
Healthy, Working Forests
Sustainable
Forestry Cycle
Answer: All of these products contain wood!
o
Lumber
o
Shampoo
o
Football helmets
o
Furniture
o
Fabric
o
Paper
o
Cardboard
o
Pharmaceuticals
o
Toothpaste
Which of
the following
products is
made from
wood?
We all benefit from healthy, working forests!
Beautiful landscapes, clean lakes and streams,
tree-covered hills, habitat for wildlife, fresh air
and opportunities for lots of outdoor recreation are
just some of the value private forests contribute to
Washington. Washington’s forests produce more
wood per acre than any other state in the nation.
The importance of these vigorous forests can be felt
throughout our economy. Trees take carbon dioxide
out of the atmosphere and store the carbon in wood.
This carbon makes wood very strong and helps to
moderate climate change. Modern manufacturing
techniques that take advantage of the unique
properties of wood are making the possibilities for
using wood almost limitless. And the great news
is that wood harvested in Washington is grown
sustainably. That means this resource will continue
to be here even as it’s being used!
Owners of forestland all over Washington are
deeply invested in the future. They know lands that
can produce healthy forests are crucial to success.
One of the ways private forests in Washington
ensure the long-term health of a forest is by
making sure the streams meandering through their
lands are able to support populations of migratory
fish. Private foresters helped to create the Forest
and Fish Law as a means to safeguard the water
quality of Washington’s streams and rivers. The
law provides guidelines for keeping water clean
and cool, improving roads and stabilizing slopes of
nearby hills. As of 2013, more than 5,600 barriers
to fish travel had been removed on nearly 3,900
miles of streams flowing through timberlands. The
law provides for Adaptive Management Practices,
which are new methods of restoring fish habitat
that are always being scientifically explored. When
a better method is found, it can be implemented
where it will be most effective.
Each year forest landowners in Washington plant
about three trees for every one that is harvested.
Through their detailed planning and wise
stewardship, Washington’s private timberland
owners will continue to create jobs.
Photos courtesy of
The Washington Forest Protection Association
New Forest
New forests are grown from seeds collected from cones within the same
seed zone or region that has the distinctive environmental conditions for a
particular tree. Seed zones help landowners replant trees that are best adapted
to the site, thus producing long-lived and healthy stands. Each year, forest
landowners in Washington plant an average of 52 million tree seedlings
in areas that have been harvested.
Every 10 to 15 years a replanted second-growth forest
is thinned. Thinning is the process of tree removal of weaker trees
in a forest stand to reduce tree density and tree-to-tree competition,
encouraging increased growth of fewer, higher quality trees.
Thinning also reduces excess fuels in a given area, making wildfires
more manageable and reducing smoke emissions.
Thinning
Stand Management
Protection – Fire
Animal damage refers to the damage of healthy trees by
animals foraging for food. Washington’s biggest culprits of
animal damage are bears, porcupines, beavers, mountain
beavers, deer and elk, but it is the black bear that does the
most damage. When its bark is stripped away, a young tree
of 15 to 25 years old becomes susceptible to insects and
disease.
Stand Management
Protection – Animal Damage
In areas with an over-accumulation of fuels, a combination
of thinning small trees and clearing brush followed by
controlled burning can be the most effective method to
reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. “Prescribed fires”
are managed fires used to intentionally clear out heavy
vegetation under trees, prepare new seed beds,
and dispose of excess wood debris on the forest floor.
After about 50 years, a reforested area is ready for
harvest. Most harvesting today is of reforested areas.
In eastern Washington, where forests are less dense, managers
select small groups of trees to remove. In western Washington,
clear-cutting provides open sunlight Douglas-fir seedlings need to
quickly grow into new forests. Harvest units are planned years
in advance, taking into consideration site conditions,
environmental protection and market conditions.
Harvest Planning
