Celebrating the World's Most Renewable Resource

This October, Americans will celebrate the world's most renewable resource during National Forest Products Week (NFPW). Trees are the source of thousands of goods consumed by Americans every day. Even as the world's population soars well above 6 billion, the outlook for the future of the forests remains bright.

The forest products industry is committed to meeting the demands of consumers while simultaneously ensuring that the benefits associated with forests will be enjoyed by many generations to come. The North American forest products industry is responsible for planting well over half of the 2.15 billion trees planted each year. The success of these efforts was reflected in a recent United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's "State of the World's Forests" report. The report indicated that forest cover had increased by 20 percent in the last 30 years.

"I am personally grateful for the products this industry produces," says Steve Rountree, President of the Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association. "But more importantly, I am extremely proud of the responsibility shown in our business practices."

NFPW is celebrated each year during the third week of October and was originally set aside by Congress in 1960 as a means of heightening awareness of the forest products industry. More than 5,000 products come from wood. Paper, lumber, furniture, glue, cosmetics, milkshakes - all of these products are made possible by trees and the forest products industry.

The Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association represents independent lumber manufacturers throughout the Southeast. Members of the Association produce an average of 4.5 billion board feet of quality hardwood and softwood lumber annually.

This release was distributed through the North American Precis Syndicate