|
Forest Management |
|
|
For More Information: |
Forest management has changed greatly over the years. Healthy forests do far more than grow trees for wood products -- they provide clean water, wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities, and more. Sustainable communities and economic prosperity depend on the full array of products and values from a healthy forest. Program Information Over the past five years, about 41 million board feet has been offered for sale per year on the Chippewa. The five-year average for harvest is 50 million board feet. About 13% was sawtimber and 87% was pulpwood. Aspen comprised about one-third of the total volume sold and harvested in fiscal year 2002. Over the past year 2,430 acres of reforestation were done on the Chippewa National Forest and 2,889 acres of timber stand improvement were accomplished on the Chippewa. Timber Stand Improvement is designed to improve the composition, survival, growth and form of regenerated trees. Examples include: thinning, pruning of diseased branches and control of undesirable vegetation. A
Question for the Future
The question to think about is how do we sustain environmental
quality while also meeting the needs of a growing population? During the past 50 years the area covered by forests in Minnesota
has declined by about 15%. The
primary causes of this decline are urban expansion and highway construction.
Unless something changes, the U.S. population is expected to grow from
281 million people in the year 2000 to 571 million people by the end
of the century. This will
mean more urban expansion, more highways and much greater demand for
raw materials. Of the major industrial raw materials, wood is the only one
that is renewable. Wood
use in the U.S. currently equals the use of steel, cement, aluminum
and plastic combined. Substituting non-renewable, non-wood raw materials
as a means to conserve wood while meeting the increased demand for raw
materials will result in increased energy consumption, increased carbon
emissions and other environmental impacts. |
