MNN - Mother Nature Network

Few people know where the wood that makes up their furniture or paper products came from. And probably fewer know whether those forests were sustainably managed and legally harvested before that timber became a coffee table or a paper card.

 

But knowing is important — because more than 25 percent of the hardwood lumber and plywood traded today may be harvested illegally or come from forests managed unsustainably. Illegal logging and deforestation have devastating consequences — such as the loss of habitat and increased carbon emissions causing climate change — for people, wildlife and the natural systems that depend on healthy forests.

 

Buying wood and paper products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) — goods that are guaranteed to have come from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests — is a great way to ensure your magazine or wooden toy didn’t cost a rare animal  its home.

 

People can also make a difference by supporting forest conservation efforts locally and around the world. Right here in Texas, the Conservancy is working to restore and protect two of the Lone Star State’s most distinct forest ecosystems at the Lennox Woods Preserve in Red River County and Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary in Hardin County. Both preserves are open to the public, and each offers a unique example of forest-management techniques that conserve old-growth timber and remnant longleaf pine communities.

 

By learning where your wood comes from and by supporting forest conservation in Texas and beyond, you can be sure your purchase is a sustainable one, helping forests throughout the world remain intact.

 

MNN is working with The Nature Conservancy to bring you state-by-state environmental information.