Select Cutting Pennsylvania Woodlots

Timber harvesting is important to Centrallower quality ones. This provides two distinct
Pennsylvania woodland owners. Did you knowbenefits. One, the growing space for the remaining
Pennsylvania forest products exceed $5 billiontrees will be increased and allow them to flourish.
annually? The timber industry provides more thanTwo, it creates new areas where seedlings can
90,000 jobs in over 2500 companies with a payrollbecome established. This helps to retain the full range
exceeding $2 billion a year.of trees from large old trees to seedlings.
Private landowners In Pennsylvania received overYou can use select cutting to control species
$350 million per year in payments for timber harvests.composition, tree quality, and age structure. Select
In the more developed counties in Pennsylvania suchcutting is easy on your forests and allows for
as Lancaster, Lebanon, and Berks counties it is mostsubstantial biodiversity.
common to see select cut logging on small privateVisual impacts of timber harvesting are temporary.
landowner woodlands.To the casual observer, the visual evidence of
Both select cutting and clear cutting are acceptablelogging is nearly invisible, after three to five years.
methods for Pennsylvania timber harvests. ClearNew tree seedlings and other vegetation renewed on
cutting in which entire span of timber is cut is one ofthe land make disturbed areas unnoticeable.
the management systems used by foresters toPennsylvania timber harvesting affects only a small
regenerate or renew woodlands.portion of Pennsylvania's Wood lands. Each year.
Select cut logging is a technique in which individualAccording to the report Timber Harvesting In
trees or small groups of trees are harvested.Pennsylvania, put out by Penn State University in
Obviously you take the larger higher-quality trees, but2004, the Pennsylvania annual timber harvest is less
you can also cull the woods of the many smaller,than 1% of current standing timber volume.