Forest products support healthy forests | US Forest Service

When you work with wood products, every week is forest products week!

But this week, October 15-21, 2023, is when we take a moment to celebrate National Forest Products Week and all the people who support the critical connection between forest products and forest management.

Growing up in a community connected to the forest

I grew up in a northern Wisconsin town, where the connection between forest products and healthy forests was apparent all around me. My dad worked for a hardwood lumber company and I saw firsthand how the forest products economy supports families. My community was also surrounded by the stunning natural beauty of the region, and the love of our local forests ran deep, especially among the people who worked in the woods. These connections have stuck with me and guided my career.

Supporting market development and innovation

Now, as the lead for the Forest Service’s Wood Innovations program, I am proud of the work we’ve done with public and private sector partners to support market development and expand manufacturing for many sectors of the wood products economy. Together, we have strengthened markets for mass timber, softwood and hardwood lumber, renewable wood energy, biofuels, biochar, and other innovative wood products.

The importance of a healthy forest products industry

Healthy forests depend on a healthy forest products economy. The forest products economy and sustainably harvesting trees helps to facilitate really important forest management activities. Activities like thinning forest stands of unhealthy trees, promoting more biodiversity, and lowering the risk of a large wildfire.

Innovation in the forest products industry

The Forest Service and our partners are at the forefront of innovation, like using mass timber in construction. Mass timber is a new category of wood product that is changing how America builds. It is comprised of lumber or veneer that is glued together to produce strong, low-carbon cross-laminated timber panels or glulam beams. New mass timber buildings are incredible places to live, work and play.

Funding opportunities for wood products and wood energy economies

The Forest Service continues to invest in the future of America’s wood products and wood energy economies through embracing innovation. This week we will announce the next round of funding opportunities for the Wood Innovations, Community Wood, and Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance grant programs. Schools and private companies with wood processing facilities are eligible to apply. So too are organizations that support the forest and wood products sector while supporting the critical connection between healthy and resilient federal, state, tribal, and private forests. These organizations include tribes, states, associations and other non-government organizations that develop and support market innovation and expansion.

Success stories in the wood products industry

These grant programs have proven success. For instance, Forest Service Wood Innovations grants created strong momentum for mass timber construction. When we started focusing on mass timber in 2015, we had only a handful of buildings and no cross-laminated timber production in the U.S. Today, we have twelve new mass timber plants and over 1,860 mass timber projects that are in design or have been completed in all 50 states. This movement towards mass timber construction is creating new opportunities for using wood from forest restoration and supporting rural economies, all while embracing a construction material that is a superior carbon storing material.

Wood energy and sustainable forestry

Wood is used not only for construction, but also as a vital source of energy for families and communities. The Wood Innovation and Community Wood Energy grants have supported 45 wood energy projects that use hundreds of thousands of green tons of residues or chips annually. The Forest Service national wood energy technical assistance team provides critical support for over 50 wood energy projects annually to increase production and efficiency of heat and combined heat and power. We’re also expanding our efforts to accelerate new technologies and markets like biofuels and biochemicals, products that support sustainable forestry.

Celebrating the people behind the forest products industry

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. The hundreds of public and private wood products partnerships are the backbone of the growth and advances occurring in this industry.

It is an exciting time to be in the forest products industry, and I hope you join me in celebrating forest products this week and every week.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDGs Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article:

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 15: Life on Land

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Based on the Article’s Content:

• SDG 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation.
• SDG 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies.
• SDG 11.4: Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
• SDG 12.2: Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.
• SDG 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
• SDG 15.2: Promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article:

• Indicator 8.3.1: Proportion of informal employment in non-agriculture employment, by sex.
• Indicator 9.4.1: CO2 emission per unit of value added.
• Indicator 11.4.1: Total expenditure (public and private) per capita spent on the preservation, protection, and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage.
• Indicator 12.2.1: Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP.
• Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic, and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation, and technology transfer.
• Indicator 15.2.1: Progress towards sustainable forest management.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: fs.usda.gov

Join us, as fellow seekers of change, on a transformative journey at https://sdgtalks.ai/welcome, where you can become a member and actively contribute to shaping a brighter future.