Forestry has always been about the future and taking a long-viewed approach. By the very nature of what they do, the stewards of sustainably managed working forests must plan decades ahead since it can take a half-century before the saplings planted today are harvested.

Encapsulating the forward-looking mindset of working forests, the Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA) has introduced a series of videos and a website that shares with the public the optimism and long-range planning that is innate in our state’s tree growers and private forestland owners.

“Working forests provide an uplifting message of hope,” said WFPA Executive Director Mark Doumit. “Working forests have an eye toward the future. For every tree that is harvested, three more are planted in its place with the idea that it will be collected 40 to 80 years from now. The work that foresters are doing today, they may never see the maturity of that stand. That’s the investment and forward-thinking that is required for a sustainable working forest.”

The videos include a 30-second message and two 15-second shorts that focus on a promising future and potential for tomorrow that working forests bring to our state. In addition to the videos, there also is a website that focuses on the message and assurance that working forests are ready to meet the needs of today and tomorrow.

“This is an unsettling time for people, but we want people to recognize that working forests continue to replant trees and provide our community with essential forestry-based products that people rely on daily,” Doumit said. “So, when the world is ready, we’ll be ready as well.”

To learn more about the benefits of working forests, go to workingforest.org.

Working forest facts:

• Washington’s working forests plant a total of 52 million new carbon-absorbing trees each year.
• Foresters use modern forestry practices to protect more than 9 million acres and 60,000 miles of streams, keeping water cool and clean.
• Working forests have removed nearly 8,000 barriers and culverts to improve fish migration.
• Almost every part of the harvest tree is used to create renewable construction materials, paper products, clean energy sources and much more.