Get the Facts: Sustainable Forestry in North America

Welcome back, dear readers! As you probably know, Fantastic Floor is dedicated to only working with hardwood flooring suppliers that our certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, observe local and international timber harvesting laws, and keep up-to-date on the latest sustainable forestry trends. That’s why we’re always interested whenever new information about sustainable forestry comes forth.

Today, the Wood Products Council, a cooperative of major wood associations and research organizations in North America, released a document titled Sustainable Forestry in North America. This eight-page document provides interesting new statistics regarding modern day forestry practices in North America and how they relate to the environment.

Photo courtesy of www.woodworks.org.

It’s true – many of the species of wood we carry are exotic, meaning they are imported from overseas logging operations. But we do carry an extensive line of domestic hardwoods as well, such as oak, fir, and ash. For those interested in learning more about the timber harvesting practices that go into obtaining these fine hardwood species, read the full report here or take a look at the following excerpts:

Wood is the only building material that has third-party certification programs in place to demonstrate that products being sold have come from a sustainably managed resource. North America has more certified forests than any other jurisdiction.

Up until the early 20th century, settlers coming to North America cleared an average of 2.1 acres of forest per person to survive and grow food. The establishment of industrial agriculture and other changes in land use have mitigated forest clearing in North America since that time, and forest acreage has been stable for over a century. The rate of deforestation in the U.S. and Canada has been virtually zero for many decades. The U.S. reported an annual increase in forest area of 0.12 percent in the 1990s and 0.05 percent from 2000 to 2005, while Canada reported no change.

Providing it comes from a sustainably managed resource, wood has many attributes that make it an inherently ‘green’ building material. Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies show that wood requires less energy across its life cycle than other structural building products, and is better for the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, and other impact indicators.

Visit our website for more information on Fantastic Floor’s environmental practices.