Virginia Department
of Forestry

We all know that trees provide many useful products: lumber for building construction, furniture, paneling, cabinetry, and flooring, as well as paper of all sorts. But tree products go far beyond wood and paper. You might be surprised at just how many tree products you use every day, and where they are found. In fact, wood products are so prevalent that each American uses an estimated 100-foot tree’s worth each year.

Forestry is Virginia’s third leading industry, generating more than $21 billion and employing more than 108,000 people. Forest products and markets for those products support rural economies across the state and are vital to helping landowners keep their land in forest. Ensuring that forest landowners have a financial incentive to maintain, manage, and protect their forests helps sustain Virginia’s forestland. Surveys show that most landowners do not own forestland primarily for timber income, but any significant conversion of forestland to another land use happens for financial reasons. The more forest products we use as a society, the more options landowners have to generate income when they need it and the less incentive they have to convert their forest to another land use. And, tax revenue from Virginia forest products tax helps fund reforestation.

Virginia’s forest products industry benefits from today’s informed consumers, who often look to buy local Virginia-Grown forest products and want to know they are buying forest-related products that were grown, harvested, and processed sustainably (forest certification).

Trees support clean air and water, and provide robust habitat and economic benefits; forest markets are essential to sustaining well-managed forests.

Read more…

• Forest certification
• Virginia Grown forest products
• Specialty forest products
• Virginia Forest Products Tax

Additional Resources

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