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This is National Forest Products Week -- a time to highlight the value of forest products, their many contributions to society and the vital role they play in our daily lives. This week-long celebration of forest products has been observed across the nation since 1960.
Most people appreciate that forests are an essential part of the history, culture and environment of both Michigan and Wisconsin, but fewer realize the economic impact of 20 million acres of forests in Michigan and 17 million in Wisconsin.
Michigan's forest products industry has more than 150 registered foresters, more than 800 logging and trucking firms, and about 300 primary manufacturers -- sawmills, veneer mills, pulp and paper mills and engineered board manufacturers. The state also has more than 1,000 secondary manufacturers -- companies that use lumber or products made by a primary manufacturer to make finished goods.
Michigan's forest products industries provide direct employment to almost 42,000 people, leading to $13.4 billion in economic output, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
In Wisconsin, forest products generate more than $24 billion in goods and services annually, said Carmen Hardin, DNR Applied Forestry Bureau director.
"The economic impact reaches every corner of the state," Hardin said. "Not only is forestry the number one employer in eight Wisconsin counties, but every 100 forestry jobs support another 124 jobs in the state."
Diverse forests help keep our ecosystems healthy while the forest industry produces a unique and wide range of products. Those products range from cardboard boxes and high-quality paper to doors, windows and flooring, to many lesser-known products that support a healthy economy and keep Michigan and Wisconsin competitive globally.
Forests also play a critical role in mitigating climate change by capturing carbon dioxide and storing carbon within soils and forest biomass.
Carbon sequestration in sustainably managed forest lands and carbon storage in the products made from the trees can provide a natural solution to climate change while also providing a variety of additional benefits like clean air and water, human health benefits, recreational opportunities, wildlife habitat, good-paying jobs and local economic support. Not only does the carbon remain sequestered throughout the forest product's lifetime, but forest products are less carbon-intensive to produce than other materials.
"In addition to helping mitigate climate change, forests are the backbone of our environment and critical to our economic prosperity," said Hardin. "Perhaps the best thing about forest products is that they are recyclable and come from a renewable resource. That's surely worth celebrating."
Healthy forests depend on a healthy forest products economy and the U.S. Forest Service is working to strengthen markets for innovative wood products, said Brian Brashaw, who leads the agency's Wood Innovations program. This includes mass timber, renewable wood energy, biofuels, biochar, and other products.
"It's not all about celebrating wood products this week, it's also about celebrating the people who manage forests, harvest trees, manufacture wood products and produce wood energy," Brashaw added. "The hundreds of public and private wood products partnerships are the backbone of the growth and advances occurring in this industry."
For more on National Forest Products Week, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/fs-tags/national-forest-products-week.