Using recently compiled data as a baseline, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Acting Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn Wednesday announced the department will conduct a survey of timber harvested and processed in Pennsylvania every two to three years to better understand market dynamics important to sustaining forests and the forest products industry.

“The forest products industry provides jobs that pay in every county in the Commonwealth with an overall total impact of $19 billion contributed annually to the state’s economy,” Dunn said. “Our continued survey efforts will identify trends important to DCNR’s sustainable forestry efforts, as well to the industry for business and procurement planning, and private landowners related to market opportunities for timber.”

The recently completed “Pennsylvania Timber Product Output Survey” is available on the DCNR website. The last survey conducted by the Bureau of Forestry was in the mid-1990s.

A total of 312 facilities participated in the survey. Almost a quarter of the mills had been in business less than 10 years; four facilities have operated for more than 100 years.

The total volume processed at the participating facilities in 2012 is equivalent to 1.2 billion board feet. Red oak, red maple, black cherry, and white oak were among the top species harvested by volume statewide.

Dunn noted that conducting the surveys helps strengthen relationships between government and forest industry partners through communication on common interests.

Pennsylvania forests are sources of wood and raw materials used to produce an array of valuable consumer products including hardwood furniture and flooring; kitchen cabinets; high-quality papers, pallets and packing materials; landscaping mulch; and firewood.

For more information on the many values provided by Pennsylvania’s forests, including plant and wildlife habitat and opportunities for outdoor adventures, visit the DCNR’s State Forest webpage.

4/13/2015