Deforestation occurs when forests are converted permanently or semi-permanently to another land use, such as real estate development or agriculture. Deforestation does not happen through sustainable forestry operations. Sustainably harvesting forests for forest products is not deforestation when forests are replanted or regrown.

When most people think of deforestation, they often picture the clearing of the Amazon rainforest or palm oil plantations. This is drastically different than the reality of forestry in the U.S., where tree harvesting is meticulously planned and monitored, and primarily occurring in areas specifically planted for the purpose of producing sustainable forest products. U.S. private forest owners understand the economic, social, and environmental benefits of ensuring a forest stand is regrown as quickly and healthily as possible to ensure the forest remains intact and functioning.

The U.S. has had a stable amount of forest area since the 1950s because of sustainable forest management (SFM). A core principle of sustainable forest management is the continuous cycle of growth, harvest, and regrowth to keep forests intact. The standard practice is to replant within a year of timber harvesting to ensure a healthy and reestablished forest within five years of a harvest. The Forest Service projects that future forest loss in the U.S. will be driven by wildfire, expansion of urban areas, and conversion to agricultural uses.

Harvesting occurs on less than 2% of private working forests each year. Replanting occurs on roughly the same number of acres annually. This continuous cycle provides a mosaic of forest age and size classes across the landscape, which is beneficial for wildlife, water quality, carbon sequestration, and carbon storage. It also ensures a renewable and abundant natural resource for future generations.

Regrowing forests after harvest – whether by planting or natural regeneration – is a core tenet of sustainable forest management (SFM). National planting estimates on all U.S. forestlands range between 1 billion and 1.7 billion seedlings each year.

Many tree seedlings are sourced through cooperatives that bring together universities, forest sector companies, and government agencies to select and grow the best trees. Selective breeding – and not genetic modification – has resulted in diverse stocks of native species that are fast growing and serve as a safeguard against disease, insects, climate change, and other threats to species survival.

As a result of these collaborative efforts to produce superior seedlings, the productivity of forests in parts of the U.S. has increased by as much as four-fold since the 1950s and roughly doubled since the 1980s.

In some forests, natural regeneration rather than planting is the most effective and ecologically sound method. Natural regeneration techniques are usually selected before harvest and tailored to specific conditions within a forest landscape.

Whether planted or naturally regenerated, the key is that the forest is reestablished after harvesting.

Sustainable forest management (SFM) is the long-term care and stewardship of forests to balance and maintain their environmental, economic, and social benefits today and in the future.

NAFO member companies view sustainable forest management as a vital part of our culture as stewards of the land, not just something that is good business or a social responsibility.

Many forests in the U.S. are certified under sustainable forestry certifications programs offered by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and America Tree Farm System (ATFS). Forests managed to one of these organization’s certifications have management regimes that ensure sustainability.

Sustainable forest management is widely adopted by the forest sector in the U.S., which is one of the reasons the country has enjoyed stable forest cover for much of the last century. This stands in contrast to many parts of the world, where unsustainable practices are more common.

Sustainable forest management ensures that NAFO member forests are managed using scientifically rigorous standards, systems, policies, and procedures incorporated into forest management plans. The core principle of sustainable forest management is the continuous cycle of growth, harvest, and regrowth.

Regrowing forests after sustainably harvesting timber is an entire field of scientific study. Depending on forest ecology, regrowing harvested forests is done by planting seedlings or through natural regeneration, where the forest is managed so it regrows on its own as it would after a natural disturbance.

Each year, forest owners of all types plant more than 1 billion seedlings. NAFO members alone plant over 400 million seedlings annually as part of our sustainable forestry practices.

Because sustainable forest management has been embraced, economic incentives and environmental benefits have aligned in modern forestry like no other sector in the economy. While many other sectors struggle with trade-offs between economic returns and environmental stewardship, the market structures for U.S. forestry reward environmental stewardship as a part of the strategy for achieving economic returns.

Regrowing the next rotation of trees as soon as possible after harvest is good business and good for the environment. Timber takes decades to grow and mature before it can be harvested again. Maintaining a continuous cycle of growth, harvest, and regrowth ensures a diversity of forest ages, which is important for wildlife, water quality, and carbon removal and storage.

Robust sustainability assurances – such as forest certification and best management practices (BMPs) established by states – help ensure that forests are regrown after harvests, whether through regulatory frameworks or widely adopted standards. These assurances guarantee that regrown forests remain healthy and resilient, supporting both the environment and the economy for generations to come.

Sustainable forest management (SFM) includes a focus on maintaining and enhancing water quality and quantity, especially since forests shelter important river headwaters and groundwater recharge areas.

Sustainable forest management practices followed by NAFO members and other forest owners include a comprehensive program of state-approved water quality best management practices (BMPs) for forestry that are designed to protect water quality and habitat for aquatic organisms.

BMPs ensure forest management activities protect forest ecosystems and water resources by controlling soil erosion, managing surface water flows, and providing additional ecological safeguards. A large body of scientific evidence affirms the effectiveness of forestry BMPs to protect water quality.

Private working forest owners also make significant investments in restoring streams and removing or modifying human-made barriers to stream flow and fish passage. For example, forest road construction is highly technical, and forest owners make significant efforts to ensure that waterways are left unobstructed.

Sustainable forest management practices followed by NAFO members include a comprehensive program of state-approved water quality best management practices (BMPs) for forestry that are designed to protect water quality and habitat for aquatic organisms.

One such BMP is to establish streamside management zones (SMZs) around streams, rivers, and waterways, where harvests are limited and special care is taken to protect ground cover around the body of water.

Serving as a buffer, an SMZ filters sediment and reduces runoff after rain or snow. These zones keep water clean and cool, maintaining habitat for fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects, and other species. They also provide habitat and travel corridors for a variety of other wildlife.

Clearcutting is a harvesting practice that removes most of the standing trees in a selected area at the same time. Under sustainable forest management, which NAFO members follow, only smaller areas within forests called stands are harvested. Trees harvested today are typically trees that were specifically planted decades ago to be harvested. In modern forestry, an entire forest is never clearcut.

Clearcuts are meticulously planned as part of sustainable forest management plans. Such planning takes into account the surrounding area around a planned harvest site.

While it might look more disruptive in the short term, clearcutting is the safest and fastest way to help our forests grow back quickly. It’s not a shortcut but instead an essential step in making sure forests keep thriving on a continuous cycle of growth, harvest, and regrowth.

Clearcutting mimics naturally occurring events like fires and windstorms, creating openings in the forest and space for new trees to take root, mature, and thrive. Open clearings in forests are good for wildlife species that need different stages of forest growth. These areas receive more sunlight and create ideal growing conditions for sun-loving shrubs and grasses that serve as habitat and food sources for a wide variety of wildlife. Standing dead trees, logs, and scattered live trees are also left after harvest for additional habitat, and buffers of trees along streams and other bodies of water are protected.

Clearcut areas are quickly regenerated either through planting or planned natural regeneration.

Deforestation occurs when forests are converted permanently or semi-permanently to another land use, such as real estate development or agriculture. Sustainable forestry operations, as practiced in the U.S., are not deforestation.

When most people think of deforestation, they often picture the Amazon rainforest or palm oil plantations. In many parts of the world, most notably in the tropics, deforestation is still an ongoing issue. This is drastically different from forestry in the U.S., where some of the highest standards of sustainable forest management in the world are practiced, making U.S. forests a responsible choice for material sourcing. Forestry practices in the U.S. are often considered superior due to a combination of factors. The U.S. benefits from a diverse range of forest ecosystems, enabling specialized and adaptive management practices. Sustainable forestry results from a mature and stable market for forest products, a comprehensive regulatory framework that balances environmental, economic, and social interests, and third-party forest management and wood fiber sourcing certification programs. These factors place U.S. forestry at the forefront of combining economic productivity and environmental stewardship.

The U.S. has had stable forest area since the 1950s because of sustainable forest management. A core principle of sustainable forest management is the continuous cycle of growth, harvest, and regrowth to keep forests intact. The standard practice is to replant within a year to ensure a healthy and reestablished forest emerges within five years of a harvest. Trees harvested today are largely trees that were specifically planted to be harvested many years ago.

Harvesting occurs on less than 2% of private working forests each year. Replanting and regeneration occur on roughly the same number of acres annually. This cycle provides a mosaic of forest age and size classes across the landscape, which is beneficial for wildlife, water quality, carbon sequestration, and carbon storage. It also ensures a renewable and abundant natural resource for future generations.

No, U.S. private working forest owners do not harvest old growth or other sensitive sites as part of their standard operations. Most of our nation’s old growth forests were harvested for settlement and industrialization long before any of us were alive. Old growth forests still exist, but nearly all are publicly owned. Private working forests provide 90% of forest products produced in the U.S. These forests are managed for successive cycles of growth, harvests, and regrowth to yield products. As a result, they include trees of a variety of ages and sizes, from seedlings to mature trees.

In the U.S., assurances are in place to verify that our forests are sustainably managed and climate smart through a mosaic of overlapping and mutually reinforcing local, state, and federal environmental laws and regulations, state-approved forestry best management practices (BMPs), and third-party forest management and wood fiber sourcing certification programs.

Harvesting and other forest management activities in or near old growth are typically done for wildfire mitigation and forest health to protect the oldest trees. If a harvest occurs in or near old growth, it is likely in response to a wildfire emergency or some other natural disturbance. Nearly all old growth is protected, and harvesting exceptionally large trees (like old growth) is economically and physically impractical. Most modern harvesting equipment, transportation, and mills are only able to process smaller diameter logs.