Strong Wood Markets Support Climate Solutions

Forests are vital carbon sinks, taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it in their leaves, wood, roots and other organic material. As one of the largest forested regions in the U.S., the Northern Forest plays an outsized role in reducing the impacts of climate change.

The single most important action for maintaining the carbon-capturing benefits of a forest is to make sure it remains a forest. Conversion to non-forest uses results in significant — often permanent — loss of the carbon storage and sequestration benefits that forests provide. Permanent losses due to conversion have far greater impact on the climate than any other forest management decisions. For this reason, “keep forests as forests” has become a mantra for the Center and many other organizations working for the long-term health of the Northern Forest.

Wood piles at Lyme Timber, sorting yard.

Thos Moser handmade wooden chairs.

Markets for forest products and services are an essential tool for keeping forests as forests. In the Northern Forest region, 80% of forest land is privately owned. All private landowners pay taxes on their land and cover other carrying costs, and many are also investment owners seeking to generate returns for shareholders. Without streams of income to cover these costs, even conservation-minded landowners may be forced sub-divide or develop their land.

The Center works to support and grow markets for forest products and services across all our program areas. We invest to grow markets for wood heat, mass timber, and other manufactured wood products, and provide direct assistance to dozens of businesses across the region that create markets for sustainably harvested wood form the Northern Forest. Through this work, we support the economic foundation for maintaining the ecological benefits the Northern Forest provides: carbon capture, clean water, and clean air.

Reports that New England loses 65 acres per day of forestland are alarming, but that loss is due to fragmentation and development — not due to forestry. Private forestland owners maintain the forest for all of us. The Center understands that healthy markets for timber make that possible.”

– Jameson French, President & CEO, Northland Forest Products, Inc.