Treasure in the trees.

• Author: Durkay, Jocelyn
• Position: TRENDS

It's not going out on a limb to say trees benefit humans and the natural environment-- from timber and forest products to rural jobs to biomass feedstock to water, soil and air quality improvements.

As forests increasingly face threats from invasive insects, disease, wildfire, urban development and climate change, state policymakers are working to maintain and cultivate these resources to maximize their environmental, economic and human benefits.

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More than two-thirds of all forestland in the United States is timberland, meaning it is capable of producing commercial hardwood or softwood.

Southern states take the lead with the largest share of timberland in the country.

The forest industry makes up 4 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, helping drive the U.S. economy. According to the American Forest and Paper Association, the industry employs almost 950,000 workers and is a Top 10 manufacturing employer in 47 states.

Beyond timber and paper, forests yield significant "biomass" resources in roots, wood bark and leaves that are the by-products from wildfire mitigation, forest thinning or timber harvests. Biomass can be burned to produce renewable electricity or heat and provided 5 percent of the energy used in the U.S. in 2014-46 percent of which was from forest biomass.

Forests also help regulate air quality, climate, water flow, water purity and erosion. Forests provide natural filtration and storage systems that process nearly two-thirds of the water supply in the country. Forest vegetation absorbs and stores carbon dioxide and other nutrients and sends oxygen back into the atmosphere. Through these processes, forests annually remove and store almost 15 percent of total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions--a quantity that offsets yearly emissions from 50 million vehicles.

New federal regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions--the Clean Power Plan--have brought carbon emissions and forests to national attention. While simply planting more forests cannot be a method of complying with these regulations, forest programs can play a complementary role in state compliance...