The Myth of Deforestation: U.S. Forests in a Global Context

From the August 2010 Forest2Mill newsletter.

Concerns over deforestation in the United States appear to be overstated. For years, many have argued that commercial forestry has been denuding the nation’s forests. In the last several years, as more states enact renewable electricity standards that encourage the use of forest biomass to generate electricity, these concerns have been heightened.
 
Unnecessarily so, it turns out. The 2010 Global Forest Resources Assessment, conducted by the Forestry Department at the United Nations, reports that the United States actually gained forested acres over the last five years. Annually, it turns out, the U.S. gains between 600,000 and 1,200,000 acres of forest. And this is after more than 100 years with a strong commercial forestry industry and forest products marketplace. The only other country with rates as high is China.
 
The worst countries have lost more than 1,200,000 acres of forest annually over the same five years. Brazil and Oceania have lost the most ground. Brazil continues to convert tropical forests to agricultural land at a slower but still alarming pace. Australia and the rest of Oceania have suffered severe droughts and forest fires, causing significant forest loss as well. Most of the major deforestation that is occurring in the world is happening in the Southern Hemisphere.   
 
So while deforestation is occurring worldwide—the U.N. report estimates the number of acres lost globally every year at just under 13 million acres during the 2000-2010 period (down from 20 million acres annually during the 1990-2000 period)—the United States continues not only to replace acres harvested and lost to forest fires, insects, disease and development, but to plant additional trees as well.

Additional Stories from the June 2010 Forest2Mill Newsletter: 
Economic Outlook
Housing Market Update
Results from 2Q2010 Delivered Price Benchmark 
      Pine Fiber
      Hardwood Fiber
      Pine Sawtimber
AF&PA Sustainability Report

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