Forest Sustainability

“Woodland BIO will support a marketplace that makes the economics of sustainable forestry possible.”
-Matt Gabler, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Forest Products Association (PFPA)

Photo of forests in Tioga County, PA 2022. Photo credit: Pandolfi Productions

A Logging Legacy

Today, Pennsylvania is a leader in the development of sustainable forestry practices while boasting a robust forest products industry that supplies essential hardwoods to countries around the world (Learn more 1).

However, it wasn’t always that way: The outbreak of the Civil War unleashed an unprecedented demand for the wood needed to build new railroads and fortifications, which led to the nation turning to Pennsylvania’s forests (Learn more 2). The forests were already suffering from the destructive impact of widespread logging and its effects when the 1870-1920 Industrial Revolution started, and Pennsylvania’s forests were further exploited for their timber resources (Learn more 3). The state led the nation in logging in 1870 and was still fourth in the nation in 1900.

By the late 1800s and early 1900s, it became evident to the public that the forests were suffering from the destructive impact of widespread logging and its effects. The clear-cutting had created the perfect habitat for white-tailed deer, which fed on the ground plants and seedlings that took root in the sunlight. With their natural predators eliminated and hunting restricted by the state, Pennsylvania’s deer population exploded and devastated the state’s forests.

There were other impacts of this exploitation that were severe: The loss of forest cover led to soil erosion, flooding, and a decline in water quality. The loss of habitat also led to declining wildlife populations (Learn more 4).

A photo of the "Pennsylvania Desert," Tioga County, PA, circa 1920 (Photo Source 1)

A Bountiful Future

Over time, Pennsylvania has made significant efforts to restore its forests. Today, Pennsylvania has more forested land than it did in the early 1900s. The state has also implemented sustainable forestry practices that help maintain healthy forests while still providing timber resources (Learn more 5). These practices have been so successful that Pennsylvania is now experiencing a two-to-one growth ratio: meaning that there is twice as much new growth as material lost to extraction and decay, as illustrated in the graphic below.

(Graphic Source 1)

However, a lingering effect of the industrial revolution is that a large number of trees grew in the 1920s, leading to excessive amounts of trees around the same age, all coming to maturity around the same time. This has led to what is popularly described in the industry as a “sea of sameness”: a homogeneous tree canopy made up of trees all around the same age and height.

The homogeneous tree canopy poses problems to forest ecosystems. It can lead to a lack of diversity in wildlife habitats and food sources. It can also lead to an increase in invasive species that thrive in these conditions. The solution being developed to address this problem is called Dynamic Forest Restoration Blocks. It involves using a range of practices and prescriptions to create a mosaic of mixed-aged forests that support a diversity of bird and wildlife species. These practices may include thinning, harvesting, planting, and regeneration (Learn more 6).

The Importance of Low-Grade Utilization

The key to making this strategy work beyond a subsidized program is developing markets for all the material that is removed in the process of creating the intended mosaic. This is not hard for the limited amounts of high-grade and mid-grade hardwood material, which will always be welcomed by a variety of value-added applications from lumber to furniture and flooring. The more significant problem is presented by the overwhelming quantity of low-grade material that currently has few commercial outlets in the region.

This combination of limited high/mid-grade material, and large amounts of low-grade creates an unsustainable commercial environment for operators who would be doing the work to clear the material from the forests. Without subsidies, an operator cannot justify the labor and equipment expense of maintaining the forest because the value of the high/mid-grade material barely covers the costs. This is why the long-term commercial success of such a program depends on low-grade utilization to ensure operators can run profitably, even when doing a job exclusively for forest habitat maintenance (Learn more 7).

Woodland BIO provides the perfect outlet for this kind of low-grade material, having a flexible process that can use all biomass from the forest, including small-diameter stems, bark, and leaves. As Matt Gabler, Director of PFPA, once said: “Woodland BIO will support a marketplace that makes the economics of sustainable forestry possible.”