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All About Trees

Protecting America's Forests

Bears, chipmunks, deer, racoons, and bats are all mammals. So are you! There are more than 4,000 species of mammals on the earth. While some mammals live in the desert or near wetlands, others, such as dogs, cats and gerbils may live with you. Forests—young, old, large and small—are one of the primary habitats for mammals. There are over 850 species of trees in the U.S., and animals find some use for each of these species.

  Forests also provide birds with food, nest sites and protection. In turn, birds help the forest by scattering seeds and eating insects that may harm trees. Different birds live and seek food—seeds, fruit, insects and worms—in different layers of the forest.

  Forestry research helps us understand and accomodate the habitat needs of wildlife. Through research, we know that oak and hickory trees comprise over 90% of the trees in many of the eastern forests of the U.S., and that these forests are almost always home to blue jays, wild turkeys and squirrels.

Protecting Wildlife

The SFI^® program provides for the needs of wildlife, including endangered species. There is no perfect forest for all wildlife. Different wildlife species need different habitats to live. Deer and quail, for example, thrive in the young trees that grow after a fire or timber harvest. Other species depend on older trees with more leaves and branches.

Each year, the forest community plants 1.5 billion tree seedlings in the United States—that's more than five new trees for each American and nearly 2,000 for every bear.

In the past ten years, forest products and paper companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on wildlife and environmental research. Thanks to careful forest management practices, the white-tailed deer population has grown from 4.5 million to over 16 million in the past 20 years. The number of wild turkeys—once near extinction—has grown from half a million in 1960 to more than 4 million today.

For more information, check out Sustainable Forestry.