By: Kristen Bergstrand Utilization and Marketing coordinator, Division of Forestry, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
Did you know that National Forest Products Week is celebrated by presidential proclamation every year? Isn't that nifty? Congress has designated by law the week beginning on the third Sunday in October to emphasize forest products, highlight the benefits and challenges of working forests, and recognize the companies that produce durable goods we use every day. We celebrate forest products because they come from wood—a sustainable renewable resource. Wood products support our state and national economies and working forests provide essential environmental benefits by absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen, stabilizing soil and filtering water, and providing habitat for wildlife.
National Forest Products Week is celebrated nationwide in a variety of ways. Typical activities might include outreach about wood products and their uses; promoting innovations such as tall timber construction; tours of mills, nurseries or working forests; essay contests; product giveaways; and open houses that allow the public to learn about different wood products and manufacturing.
National Forest Products Week started in 1960 with a joint resolution of Congress proclaiming "Our country and its people have always found constant strength, individual peace and personal pride in the bounty of forest and timberland; and from the beginning of our Nation's founding, the forest and its products have provided a core of living and freedom touching and inspiring each citizen with majestic beauty and practical use."