White fir is an excellent ornamental tree and is widely planted in the eastern United States and Canada. It is often used in cemeteries as a contrast to darker-colored evergreens. The wood of white fir is light, soft and coarse-grained. Its primary uses have been for pulpwood, lumber, furniture, and boxes and crates. Because the wood lacks a distinctive odor, it was used in earlier times for tubs in which to store butter.
White fir is important to many species of wildlife.
Blacktail and mule deer feed on the buds and leaves during the winter, porcupines eat the bark, and Douglas pine squirrels are fond of the seeds. Grouse may also eat seeds after they fall from the cones.