Federal and other policies have improved forest practices, reduced air and water pollution from processing mills, and helped protect fish and wildlife habitats. But many are also blunt, costly instruments that fall short of goals, sometimes creating new problems, and offering the proverbial pound of cure instead of the ounce of prevention. Changes in how forests are managed and products are manufactured, in where markets for these goods and services are, in how knowledge is created and used, and even in how we think about forests will be at least as important as policy changes in making the U.S. forest sector more sustainable. Innovation, experimentation, and leadership by government, communities, resource managers, manufacturers, consumers, and others are vital to sustainability. All of this is predicated on the idea that options should be preserved before the resource deteriorates irremediably and, basically, that one good turn will catalyze another.
The transition to a sustainable U.S. forest sector will take decades, and success is not guaranteed. But constructive practical action is possible today, and the ten steps outlined here represent a sound start toward sustaining the diverse, valuable, and irreplaceable resources found in America’s forest sector.
