{"id":1934,"date":"2022-04-28T12:38:35","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T17:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.bairdbrothers.com\/?p=1934"},"modified":"2023-03-10T11:32:27","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T16:32:27","slug":"how-wood-products-actually-help-ecosystems-a-conversation-with-amy-shields-and-jessica-hickman-fresch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.bairdbrothers.com\/how-wood-products-actually-help-ecosystems-a-conversation-with-amy-shields-and-jessica-hickman-fresch\/","title":{"rendered":"How Wood Products Actually Help Ecosystems: A Conversation With Amy Shields and Jessica Hickman Fresch"},"content":{"rendered":"
Note: <\/i><\/b>this is a transcript from our recent AHA interview. If you would like to <\/span><\/i>watch the video<\/span><\/i><\/a>, check out our content studio page. This interview is also available as a podcast episode \u2013 <\/span><\/i>find it here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Brought to you direct from <\/span>Studio 3B at Baird Brothers Fine Hardwoods<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>American Hardwood Advisor<\/span><\/i> is your source for trends, tips, and insights into how the building industry has evolved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Join me, Steve Stack, along with guest builders and industry leaders, as we talk shop and go in-depth on what it takes to be the best of the best.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dive into topics like architecture, industry trends, project plans, historical tools, tricks of the trade, and life lessons from more than six decades of experience in the hardwood lumber business.<\/span> Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Welcome back, everybody, to Studio 3B at Baird Brothers Fine Hardwoods. I\u2019m Steve Stack, director of business development. Today, we’re going to have a great conversation with some partners from western Pennsylvania that came to visit us today: Ms. Amy Shields from the Allegheny Hardwoods Utilization Group and one of our business partners and family friends, Jessica Hickman Fresch from Hickman Lumber over in Emlenton. Thanks for coming over today.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n We’re glad to be here.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n We felt it was important to bring you both in with your background and your expertise. We’re going to talk about, and I’m not sure which word I want to use, whether it’s <\/span>sustainability<\/span> or a natural <\/span>renewable resource<\/span>. I think they cross paths.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n We’re going to talk about anything from the purpose of a forest, the benefits of a forest, harvesting or whether it’s a standing forest that’s been untouched, and why proper <\/span>forest management<\/span> is important. Jess, I know your great-grandfather was a little bit ahead of his time in recognizing that a forest needed to be taken care of.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Mm-hmm.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n And you have some <\/span>forestry<\/span> land that you guys manage.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Mm-hmm.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Amy, with all of your affiliations within the hardwood <\/span>forestry<\/span> industry, we’re going to tap into your thought process.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n For folks that don’t understand, what does <\/span>sustainability<\/span> reference?<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Oh, wow. You’re jumping right into the big stuff, huh? Okay. <\/span>Sustainability<\/span> actually means different things to different people. If you ask folks inside the industry about <\/span>sustainability<\/span>, it’s common knowledge. It means that we do a good job in stewarding the forests. We are taking care of how we harvest, why we harvest, when we harvest, and the manner in which we do it, all with the idea that we’re looking to ensure that there’s a good hardwood forest here for future generations. That’s what <\/span>sustainability<\/span> means to most of the folks within the industry. Right, Jess?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Yes.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n One of the issues that we face with the general public though is that <\/span>sustainability<\/span> means something different at times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To some folks in the general public, <\/span>sustainability<\/span> means “I’m choosing a product because it didn’t come from a harvested tree.” Their idea of <\/span>sustainability<\/span> means “I promoted not harvesting or using anything from the woods, but from another line of product.” Then there are folks in the general public who understand what <\/span>sustainability<\/span> means within the industry, which is good and careful <\/span>forest management<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n That reminds me of a fantastic analogy Jess had. It was comparing the <\/span>life cycle<\/span> of a tree, its purposes, and the service it provides.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Mm-hmm.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n You had a couple of examples. In the analogy, you compared it to a field of corn or a garden.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Elaborate on that a little bit.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Yeah. Within the industry, it’s a crop. <\/span>Forestry<\/span> is even in the Department of Agriculture at the state level, because it\u2019s a crop (just a long-term crop). If you’re growing tomatoes or corn in a garden, you harvest it each year. With a forest, you might go in every ten years to pick out the weeds. Then you pick out your mature trees to harvest that are ready to serve an extra purpose. The <\/span>wood product<\/span> is then going to last another hundred years. It’s going to outlast a lot of lifespans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Trees die on their own, so if we use it and pick that tree while it’s ripe and mature, we can utilize that wood. It\u2019s exactly like how you utilize a piece of fruit or vegetable from a garden. Trees are <\/span>renewable<\/span> and they’re growing back. In Pennsylvania, I think we’re growing at least three times as many trees as we harvest.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n I think double.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Double?<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Yes, that\u2019s our estimate.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Say that one more time.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Well, the official line is that we are growing back double the number of trees that we’re harvesting on an annual basis. And that\u2019s true. We do have some forest conditions that are causing certain trees or certain varieties of trees to grow back a little more prolifically. So I don’t think you’ll get consensus that even though we’re growing back twice as much as we’re harvesting, we’re not necessarily growing back exactly what we want. We have some work to do there. But yeah, we’re definitely harvesting less than we’re growing and we do have a sustainable, <\/span>healthy forest<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n There was a UN report that Jonathan Geier references a lot. He works for the Pennsylvania Hardwood Development Council. The biggest threat to Pennsylvania’s forest is actually underutilization. We have a lot of mature forests, so trees are dying at a faster rate than we’re harvesting them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The cool thing about the forest and one of the reasons that we need them is that trees take in <\/span>carbon dioxide<\/span> and give us oxygen. We need forests for that. When you cut down that tree, that carbon is stored. That carbon is stored in this wall, it’s stored in this bench, it’s stored in the doors you make.<\/span><\/p>\n If that tree dies and we don’t utilize that wood, carbon’s released back into the atmosphere. That’s the natural process of it. Right now the big thing is reducing carbon <\/span>emissions<\/span> in the atmosphere. By using <\/span>wood products<\/span> we are actually keeping carbon stored in a product that’s going to last a hundred-plus years.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Right.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Plus, younger trees absorb carbon at a faster rate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Right.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n When you cut down a tree, you grow more trees that take it in at a faster rate. You’re still storing that carbon and taking it in quicker by growing younger trees. So, <\/span>wood products<\/span> are better than just <\/span>carbon neutral<\/span>. They\u2019re a carbon-negative product.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Right.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Compare it to the alternative. If you don’t use wood, you have to use something else. You’re going to use a plastic product or another <\/span>non-renewable resource<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Right.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n And that’s terrible for the environment.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n You mentioned usage versus what is actively growing. For example, the total acres of <\/span>forestry<\/span> in Pennsylvania today versus 150 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Yeah, we have just under 17 million acres of forested land in Pennsylvania.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Pennsylvania was totally clear-cut at one point. That was before there was a <\/span>sustainability<\/span> factor. It was clear cut after the civil war.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n It wasn’t as much of a hardwood forest. It was more white pine and hemlocks. When they clear-cut that, hardwoods predominantly grew back. We kind of got lucky as a country that we had really great hardwoods growing back. That was just the side effect of it.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Right.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n We don’t manage like that anymore. That was back in the day when they were moving west. \u201cCut some trees in Pennsylvania, we\u2019ll go to Ohio.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Right. We went through a chemical wood era that took out the remaining trees beyond that. It\u2019s clear we have a sustainable model in Pennsylvania with 17 million acres of forest land and the fact that it’s growing back twice as much as we’re harvesting, although we know there’s some nuance to that.<\/span><\/p>\n Everything can improve. Every process can improve. When settlers first arrived in Pennsylvania, it was actually 90% softwood forest. It was hemlock, spruce, and pine. They were harvesting all of that for <\/span>building materials<\/span>, specifically for ship masks in the beginning. Then it was fueling the building of the country. Then we moved into the era of the tanneries. People don’t realize that it fueled the Industrial Revolution. Back then, all of our equipment was belt-driven.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Right.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Where did all that come from? They were leather belts that fueled all of that. The tanning era was a huge deal. All of that work led to our forests being basically clear cut and stripped bare. There are pictures where you can see some of the results of that. The last hundred years have been all about conservation and changing the way that <\/span>forestry<\/span> is practiced here in Pennsylvania.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Our forefathers in this country were some pretty intelligent people.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Mm-hmm.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n They created some of our national forest areas like Pennsylvania and across this country. But now in the past hundred years or so, it’s become a conservative effort throughout the industry to manage forest lands, a <\/span>renewable<\/span> natural resource<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n You discussed the Black Forest with the hemlocks, firs, and spruce. What hardwood species does Pennsylvania produce today?<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n We have about 15 different hardwood species growing in Pennsylvania. There are about ten predominant species. Ash, beech, birch, cherry, hard maple, hickory, soft maple, red oak, white oak, and walnut. That’s pretty much the list of our predominant species. Soft maple is actually the highest percentage of our hardwood forests in Pennsylvania. I think it’s about 15% of our hardwood forests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We’re known in the region, especially where Jess and I are from, for black cherry. Our region used to be called, and is still referred to as, the Black Cherry Capital of the World. We produce about 30% of the black cherry that’s harvested in the United States. But we are number one in quality for a variety of factors, which has a lot to do with our demographic.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Cherry has some of the most beautiful, natural, mother nature-given characteristics of a lot of the hardwoods.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n It does.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n The natural colorization, the subtleness of the grain, things like that. It’s funny how different regions of the country are recognized for a certain species.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n That\u2019s right.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Like how when you go down south a little bit, we get into the hickories. Go out west, you get some of the premier white oak.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n Pennsylvania’s white oak is good, too.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n We don’t have a lot of subspecies of white oak.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n Right.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n It’s mostly the Cornus Alba with the white oak in our area. Red oak is nice too. The tighter growth rings in northern red oak.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Yep.<\/span><\/p>\n Jessica Hickman Fresch:<\/b><\/p>\n We’ve got some pretty oaks on our side of the country too.<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n As far as education, we can talk about educating landowners. We can talk about educating the general public. We can talk about educating children, the next generations.<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n Right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Steve Stack:<\/b><\/p>\n What type of programs are you involved in?<\/span><\/p>\n Amy Shields:<\/b><\/p>\n The <\/span>Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group<\/span><\/a> is one of three hardwood utilization groups, or \u201cHUGS\u201d as we’re known in the state of Pennsylvania. We’re affiliated with the <\/span>
\n<\/p>\nWood As A <\/span>Renewable Energy Resource<\/span><\/h2>\n
What Does <\/span>Sustainability<\/span> Mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Forestry<\/span> Practices Then and Now<\/span><\/h2>\n
The Forest <\/span>Ecosystem<\/span> of Today<\/span><\/h2>\n
Education On <\/span>Wood Energy Production<\/span> and <\/span>Sustainability<\/span><\/h2>\n