Both pine and hardwood inventories are expected to increase 20 percent over the next 30 years. Wood has been chipped in South Carolina for as long as paper has been made. The average chip mill uses less than one tenth of one percent of the forest in its sourcing area each year. Timber harvesting creates a temporary patch of open habitat that favors some wildlife species over others. Harvesting is only one component of a comprehensive forest management plan that results in a diversity of habitat types and forest ages to meet the needs of many species.
Landscapes containing a mosaic of forest conditions are most beneficial.
Urban growth and development, land conversion to non-forest uses, and additional changes are threatening traditional forestry uses and wildlife habitat. Monitoring indicates that over 92 percent of all timber harvests use BMPs to prevent soil erosion and protect water quality. According to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, forestry practices contribute less than four percent of the state's water quality problems. We have the same amount of hardwood forests in South Carolina as we did in the 1950s. Intensive forest management allows landowners to produce more wood on fewer acres.