Sustainable Forestry

Contrary to popular belief, the hardwood forests of the United States are currently sustainable. In fact they've been sustainable for many years. The reason is because the harvesting rate is far less than the rate of growth. Nearly twice as much new hardwood grows each year as is harvested. The volume of hardwood in American forests is 90 percent larger than it was 50 years ago. The graphs below, provided by the US Forest Service, illustrate the total hardwood inventory in the US as well as the amount of wood harvested versus the amount that grows each year. Hardwood flooring is the only truly sustainable flooring product.