Minnesota DNR Q&A -- Logging
Q: Minnesota derives great benefit from having healthy, productive forests. What role does logging play in maintaining or improving forest health?
A: Minnesota's forests are a renewable resource. And the timber industry plays a key role in maintaining and improving forest health.
Generally, loggers harvest mature or over-mature trees, which often with age become increasingly susceptible to a host of insect and disease problems. Loggers also harvest areas that suffer catastrophic affects from wind, fire, or outbreaks of deadly diseases or insects thereby protecting adjacent forests from the spread of insects and diseases.
By harvesting older and damaged stands, the carbon tied up in the trees will be locked up for long periods of time in wood products we use everyday. Without logging, decaying dead trees contribute to atmospheric carbon. Logged areas are regenerated and the young, more vigorously growing trees also help reduce atmospheric carbon, provide habitat for animals that depend on early successional forests, and provide forests for future generations to use and enjoy.
-- Alan Jones, DNR Division of Forestry
