Appalachian Lumber Producers Verify Sustainability

There's some excellent news for native hardwoods users across America, according to the USDA. Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers, Inc. (AHMI) is a regional trade association headquartered in High Point, NC. Its mission is to promote hardwood timber and products from the Appalachian region of the eastern United States. It covers 344 counties in 12 states that meet elevation, soil composition and climate requirements. The group is now planting 2.29 trees for each tree that is harvested, according to research by the U.S. Forest Service, and a new program is verifying that sustainability.

"We have known for several years that natural regeneration and forest management in the Appalachian region was providing a stable timber base,” said AHMI President Tom Inman. "We believe this (new program) goes beyond basic sustainability, and verifies an expanding resource and timber base for the future."

The U.S. Forest Service's recent analysis discovered that AHMI's hardwood timber base has grown to more than 65.4 million acres, up 300,000 acres since 1990, and it now includes more than 115 billion cubic feet of trees. Bottom line: the resource is sustaining more growth than harvest. That's not just good news for woodworkers, it's great news for anyone with a weather eye on the environment.

AHMI has established a new Web site, www.appalachianhardwood.info, to explain their new program. The group was founded in 1928 and it represents more than 200 lumber manufacturers, distributors, consumers, foresters and suppliers to the industry.