Large cypress tree (top right and bottom). Black gum (upper left). South Carolina/Georgia border.	Large cypress in Screven Co., Georgia. A few large trees, especially those with a hollowed center, were not cut.
Pine plantation with trees in planted rows, all of uniform height. Note lack of ground cover and species diversity in the interior. (Bulloch Co. Georgia)

General types of forests:

Tropical

evergreen hardwood

deciduous hardwood

Temperate

evergreen

mixed deciduous

deciduous

Boreal

evergreen

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Terms and concepts you should know:

Old-growth

Second-growth

Tree farms or plantations

Even aged-management

Uneven-aged management

Selective cutting

Clear-cutting

Strip-cutting

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Logging roads and heavy equipment

Mechanization

Exports

New Forestry

leave standing dead timber

leave down timber

natural re-seeding

maintain biological diversity

long-term, sustainable production

protection of watershed

recreation

U.S. Forest Service & National Forests

The Forest Service is required by law to manage national forests for (1) sustainability and (2) multiple use. By law, the Forest Service must not sell timber for less than the cost of reforesting the cleared land. However, cost may not include road building, timber sale preparation, and administrative costs.

The 156 national forests managed by the U.S. Forest Service:

Contain about 19% of the country's forest area

Serve as grazing lands for more than 3 million cattle and sheep each year

Provide about $4 billion worth of minerals, oil, and natural gas each year

Contain a network of more than 380,000 miles of roads, most built at taxpayer expense. They occupy an area equal to our interstate hwy system.

Provide habitat for almost 200 threatened and endangered species

Provide clean drinking water and protection for watersheds

Contain about one-third of our wilderness areas

Are heavily used for various types of outdoor recreation.

Timber sales:

As noted above, sales may not include the costs of (1) road building, (2) preparation for timber sales, and (3) administrative costs. Because of such subsidies, timber sales have made a profit for taxpayers in only 3 of the last 100 years.

The National Forest Protection Alliance suggests that logging:

causes more economic harm than good to local communities

costs the nation's taxpayers about $1.2 billion per year

costs nearby communities additional billions per year from polluted rivers and fisheries, increased flooding, degraded scenery, and lost recreational opportunities

Timber companies argue that logging

helps meet our demand for wood products

provides cheap timber that benefits the consumer and the economy

improves forest health

provides jobs and stimulates economic growth

Environmentalists respond;

such logging supplies only about 3% of our wood

below-cost timber prices puts increased pressure on the forests

communities that rely on timber proceeds are hard-hit as sales slump and the timber is depleted

recreation provides more jobs and more income for local communities

according to the Congressional Budget Office, eliminating below-cost timber sales would save taxpayers about $1.6 billion over the next 10 years.