Benefits
of Sustainable Forestry
Sustainable forestry is an emerging concept for
managing renewable forest resources. It’s a complex
term that means
different things to different people.
When the United States was originally settled 400
years ago, our forests seemed inexhaustible. Little
thought was given that
we might eventually run out of wood, game or other
resources that forests provide. Trees were cut and
cleared by the
millions to provide land for farming as well as
provide wood to build homes and heat them. |
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In the late 1800’s, as rampant logging spread westward
to Oregon and Washington, concern began to be voiced
that when those forests had been cut, we’d run out of
wood. As a result of efforts by Gifford Pinchot and
others, the practice of scientific forestry became
established in the United States, concerned with growing
trees for future generations to use for forest
products to meet their needs for wood, paper and other
materials. A major emphasis came to be placed on
managing woodlands to provide a sustained yield of
forest products.
As environmental consciousness grew during the 20th
century, the concept of sustainability in forestry
expanded to include the concept of sustaining and
growing not just the valuable trees that are eventually
harvested for forest products, but all the elements of
our forests: clean water, productive soils, wildlife,
fish, rare species, and non-commercial plants.
The Bruntland Commission on Sustainable Development’s
definition of sustainable forestry was adopted by the
International Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992:
“Sustainable forestry means managing our forests to meet
the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs by
practicing a land stewardship ethic which integrates the
growing, nurturing and harvesting of trees for useful
products with the conservation of soil, air, and water
quality, and wildlife and fish habitat,
and aesthetics.”
The American Tree Farm System’s Standards and Guidelines
for Tree Farm Certification are based upon the Rio de
Janeiro definition. The goal is to encourage landowners
to manage their woodlands to produce forest products
while protecting our water, wildlife, fish and other
environmental values.
Every Tree Farm is required to manage their woodland in
a way that enhances not only the growth of trees, but
also to protect, and if possible increase, water
supplies, wildlife, fish and the myriad of
non-commercial plants and species that depend upon
forests for habitat and shelter. Tree Farmers are
required to comply with state laws governing forestry
operations and use approved Best Management Practices to
protect wetlands, streams and habitat.
On a practical basis, to do this in Massachusetts simply
means following the state’s forestry and wetlands
regulations when any harvesting or thinning is done on a
Tree Farm, and practicing good forestry that provides
for regeneration of species which are valuable not only
for forest products but also for wildlife.
Den trees and snags should be retained whenever
possible, and sufficient trees of valuable
mast-producing species such as red and white oak and
black cherry should be retained to provide seed for new
generations of trees. On sensitive sites, logging or
thinning operations should be scheduled to take
advantage of dry or frozen soil conditions. Sufficient
buffers and filter
strips should be retained near wetlands and riparian
areas (streambeds) to allow any runoff to be naturally
filtered and cleaned by the undisturbed soil.
For more information on this topic, contact MFA at
info@massforests.org
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