Logging in the Amazon can be greener than U.S. timber harvests. For example, compare these two areas with recent logging: (1) Culpepper County, Virginia; and (2) a timber tract in the Amazon basin.
Logging near Washington, D.C.
This area is in Culpepper County, Virginia – just 70 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. (110 km).
Slide the control to see Culpepper County in August of 2017 (left), versus the same area in May 2021.Logging in the Amazon Basin
This area is located in the western Amazon. A timber tract is within the white boundary.
Slide the control to see this Amazon forest in August of 2017 (left), versus the same area in November 2018.Here is the same tract, 2.5 years after logging.
Wood buying myths
The following are common myths in wood purchasing guidance:
- U.S. timber harvests are better than tropical ones.
- Buying tropical wood is bad for the environment.
In reality, tropical wood products can originate from forests that are managed significantly better than U.S. forests.
See also: Southern Yellow Pine: Ten species from 18 countries
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