Hardwood forests are healthy and growing in Appalachia, trade group says

"Save a tree," environmentalists preach. That's not an option when you're building anything with wood, like a hardwood-composite floor for a van trailer.

And as we know, producers grow trees for this purpose, and current hardwood stands are healthy, according to a recent study commissioned by Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers, a trade association.

"Appalachian hardwood's growth to removal ratio is 2.45 to 1 in 2012," says the association, quoting from the study. "This represents a 5% increase over the already favorable findings in a similar study done in 2007.

"Through modern forest management techniques and wise resource utilization, forested land in the Appalachian region has grown by 300,000 acres across 344 counties, adding 300 million new trees since 2007."

Hardwood forests now cover 65.7 million acres in 12 states in the eastern U.S., an increase of 300,000 acres since 2007, the group says.

"Because of natural regeneration and forest management in the region, we have an extremely stable timber base," says the association's president, Tom Inman. "We believe this goes beyond basic sustainability and verifies an expanding resource and timber base for the future."

Havco, an association member and a leader in wood-composite floor manufacturing for the trucking industry, brought the study to our attention.

"We choose to use Appalachian oak in our composite floors not only for its natural properties of strength and durability, but also for oakʼs ample availability and sustainability," says Havco's president and CEO, Bruce Bader.

"We applaud the efforts taken to help preserve this important natural resource for future generations."

Details of the study are at www.appalachianhardwood.info.