National Hardwood Magazine

Words matter. The term “clearcut” often conjures images of vast, barren landscapes stripped of trees, yet in reality, a clearcut can be as small as the size of the room you’re in. It’s a necessary forestry practice that, contrary to common belief, is not synonymous with deforestation. We often plug in the word “sustainably harvested” to combat that negative stereotype. “Sustainability” has become a buzzword for a lot of things; even the steel industry claims sustainability. Yet sustainability is a threshold that we far exceed. We should emphasize not just exceeding the minimum but the true reality of hardwood: we grow 50 percent more trees than we harvest. We are not in the business of maintaining basic forest sustainability. Our business goes beyond sustainability—we help forests thrive, fostering new growth while sequestering carbon in our wood products.