June 30, 2014

- Even though home prices are improving, new home sales and housing starts have taken a dive. Homebuyers are holding-off due to rising prices and interest rates, and bank credit to builders and developers is still tight. 

- Cutting some timber? Why not help-out the resident bats by building a bat house. Plans for the most effective houses can be found at:http://www.batcon.org

- Why not provide a small backyard pond for frogs and other amphibians while we're at it. Birds and butterflies will also appreciate the effort. Check-out: http://nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-for-Wildlife/Gardening-Tips/Build-a-Backyard-Pond.aspx


Forest Facts:

- There are 1.6 billion trees planted in the US each year. Private owners plant 90 percent of these trees.

- Nearly 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases are stored by trees and forest products annually, enough to off-set 15 percent of US fossil fuel emissions.

- The net annual growth of our forests in 2006 was 9.6 billion cubic feet, or about 365 million tons. The US has grown more timber and trees than it has harvested since the 1940's.

- Wood and wood byproducts are used by forest industry to generate  28.5 billion kilowatts of renewable electricity each year. This is enough to power 3 million homes.

-  Each day, US forests filter 132 billion gallons of fresh water for our use.

- Private forests in the US contribute $102 billion to the economy.

Need more info? Contact Us or visit nafoalliance.org