Sustaining Our Forest Video Transcript

Katie Fernholz, executive director of Dovetail Partners, an environmental non-profit

It’s a common notion we’ve all heard before, and on the surface, it seems to make sense: use less paper to save trees. After all, if paper comes from trees, then using paper must be bad for forests, right?

What if I told you that using wood-based products like office paper actually helps keep American forests healthy and thriving?

My name is Katie Fernholz and I’m a forester. I’ve worked in forestry for more than 18 years, including more than a decade of experience with forest certification programs.

If you want to be more environmentally-friendly in your daily life, you should know the truth about recycling, where paper comes from and the importance of sustainable forestry. Forests, people and businesses all win when these things come together.

Let’s start with where paper comes from.

In the U.S., wood used to make paper comes from two places: public forests operated by the federal, state or county government, and privately-owned forests – mostly owned by people like you and me.

90 percent of the wood harvested in the U.S. for products like paper and lumber are made from trees grown on privately owned forest land.

In fact, about 90 percent of the wood harvested in the United States for products like paper and lumber are made from trees grown on privately owned forest land; families and businesses who make their living operating sustainable forests.

If trees weren’t needed to make wood products, private land owners would not have that source of income. They would need to find a new way to support their families. This is when forests are in danger of being cut down and developed for other uses. Using trees supports saving trees !

It may sound backwards, but when you think about it, using trees supports saving trees. In the U.S. trees are used to generate income for their land owners, creating incentive for them to preserve our forests.

GRAPHIC: The forest industry is a top 10 manufacturing employer in nearly every state.

And it’s not just about the economy. We’ve come a long way since the destructive logging practices that we all read about in history books. Today, responsible forestry practices in the United States can strengthen our natural ecosystems and support resiliency.

In the United States, the role of foresters like me is to nurture a natural process. We follow internationally recognized standards, as well as national, state, and local requirements, to grow forests in a healthy way. That means planting different types of trees and selecting which ones to cut and which to let grow. It’s our job to preserve the ecosystem and encourage continual growth.

Thanks to foresters, forest land in the U.S. has been increasing since the government started the Forest Census in the 1950s. More private land owners are deciding to grow forests – which means our country has millions more acres of forest today than we had 75 years ago.

GRAPHIC: Our country has millions more acres of forest today than we had 75 years ago.

Unfortunately there are many threats to U.S. forests. Forest fires, degradation and poor management are very real dangers – along with land owners choosing to develop their personal, forested land for a different use.

In the U.S., we are in a different position than most of the globe. We have created value for landowners to own forest land and standards for responsible forestry.

In fact, the U.S. has some of the highest standards in forestry and manufacturing in the world. Responsibly sourced paper is not a threat to the health of American forests.

Some sources of paper, including some paper coming from overseas, cannot make the same claims. We recycle paper at an incredible rate. But do you know why?

Now let’s talk about recycling in America. We recycle paper at an incredible rate. But do you know why?

In the 1990s, paper was the single largest volume of product filling landfills in the U.S. Trashing paper was a major problem.

Local governments and private organizations began to champion recycling as a positive option to curb waste.

Recycling efforts in offices, schools and homes became extremely successful. And today the majority of paper products in America get recycled.

Recycling paper products allows wood fibers to be used again and again, which keeps paper products out of our landfills.

It is this waste avoidance that makes using recycled paper good for the environment, not the misperception that it saves trees. In fact, sustainably harvested wood is an important part of the recycling loop.

Despite our increasingly digital world, paper still plays a vital role in our lives.

I hope you will join me in embracing the truth about forestry. U.S. forests are growing because there is a value in forest land. Using paper helps increase the need for healthy forests. By using wood-based products when we need them, and choosing paper from responsibly managed local forests for printing reports and sending letters, each of us can help sustain the health and future of our forests.

This important environmental message was brought to you by Boise Paper in collaboration with Dovetail Partners.