JONATHAN BURTON
While the Trump administration works to increase the amount of timber production in the United States, many companies that rely on wood products, from paper cups to new buildings, are looking for ways to ensure their products and operations are sustainable -- for both the environment and their bottom lines.
How do these companies ensure that the wood they’re using comes from sustainable sources? Most rely on wood from land that holds a sustainability certification.
Certainly, sustainability matters. Forests are instrumental in protecting the environment, guarding against climate change, and supporting healthier communities. It is essential to manage these ecosystems sustainably, while also sensibly using them to produce the goods that support our daily lives.
However, a new report underscores a dismal reality: for many family forest landowners, certification is too expensive and burdensome. As a result, they have trouble accessing certain wood markets – preventing them from generating the revenue they need to help maintain their forests. Ultimately, this financial strain can push them to sell their land – making it far more likely the forest will be converted to other uses.
To strengthen our timber markets, protect the livelihood of America’s family forest landowners, and ensure that forests remain as forests, companies seeking sustainable wood products should consider factors beyond certification.
First, some important context about U.S. forests. Family forest owners manage an extraordinary amount of land. They hold more than 270 million acres – or about 39 percent – of U.S. forest land, excluding interior Alaska. Many families have been stewards of their land for generations and maintain a deep, personal connection to their property.
Notably, U.S. forest laws, regulations, and Best Management Practices are some of the most robust in the world. They have exceptionally high levels of compliance, including from family forest owners who take great personal pride in their legacy of stewardship.
Sustaining healthy forests and meeting these rigorous standards requires ongoing management over many decades and generations. Landowners depend on a cycle of harvesting and replanting trees, a practice that supports both forest health and their family’s economic viability. In fact, private working forests supply up to 90 percent of the total annual wood supply in the United States.
To sustain this cycle of forestry, more than 780 million trees are planted in U.S. working forests each year. Meanwhile, less than 2 percent of a working forest is harvested annually. As a result, the country has more trees today than 100 years ago and nearly the same forest cover as in the early 1900s.
That’s a major accomplishment. Unfortunately, in many parts of the country, many family forest businesses are facing a challenge: Many companies require sustainability certifications to purchase wood.
But certification is often far too pricey for family forest owners, with programs that cost a minimum of $1,000 annually.
To put that in perspective: Let’s say a forest requires 25 years to grow. By the time it’s ready for its first harvest, a landowner would have paid a whopping $25,000 – before harvesting any of their wood.
As a result, far too often, the cost of certification exceeds potential revenue – especially since forest owners often care for their land for decades before seeing a single dollar of revenue. And there’s always the unfortunate possibility that their forests will be destroyed by wildfires, hurricanes, pests, diseases, and other natural disasters. So certification could leave landowners in a deep economic hole.
Additionally, it’s time-consuming and burdensome for family landowners to apply for the complicated certification process, especially as they manage their usual day jobs and support their families.
That’s hurting the ability of landowners in some parts of the county to build an economically viable future for themselves and their families. But even further, it could hurt the planet – and rural communities. When it’s financially difficult for landowners to manage their forests, they’re more likely to sell to others who may convert it to development or other uses.
Family landowners need a better way to sell their harvested wood. Businesses can help by providing more accessible ways for landowners to showcase their sustainable practices beyond formal certification.
This doesn’t have to be a heavy lift, because the data already exist. To make it easier to access, my organization, the Forest Landowners Foundation, just developed a tool called Forest Factor that allows users to access in-depth details about the sustainability of U.S. forestlands. Forest Factor provides detailed information on the change in forestland acres over time, forest growth, carbon storage and sequestration, forest resiliency, wildlife diversity, water quality, and community investment and jobs.
Importantly, as the data shows, areas with higher levels of harvesting often rank higher in overall sustainability. That’s because when family landowners can sell their wood, they have a natural incentive to replant and manage healthy forests for generations to come.
Large companies could also explore small business supplier programs that acknowledge the challenges these business owners face with certification, while still holding family landowners to high sustainability standards.
Additionally, companies could offer financial assistance or cost-sharing programs to help offset certification expenses, establish alternative verification methods that recognize responsible management without excessive costs or prioritize sourcing from family forest landowners who follow recognized best practices.
Family forest landowners are critical to maintaining healthy forests in this country. To support them and our forests, we need to ensure they have the right market access and incentives to thrive.
By Dr. Lauren O’Shea Ward, President of the Forest Landowners Foundation