Source: Woodworking Network
Trees outnumber people 300 to 1 in the United States, with woodlands covering one-third of the country in the U.S. Forest Service’s latest census. Only trees at least 5 inches in diameter are counted in the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis National Program, which has continuously counted the forest population since 1930.
An acre with at least 10 percent tree canopy qualifies are a forest for purposes of the census, reports Jo Craven McGinty in the Wall St. Journal. Dennis May, a U.S. Forest Service program manager, tells McGinty the census was established to answer the question, “Are we wisely using the forest without impacting its health, condition and stature.”
The U.S. exported $8.7 billion in forest products in 2016 – lumber, paper, logs, veneer, pulp, wood pellets, casegoods and other items – putting the sector right up there with soy beans and corn.
Read full story on Woodworking Network.