Letter to the Editor: ‘Wood is a valuable resource that should be treated as such’

To the Editor:

How important are our natural resources? That may depend on where one lives.

Consider trees. In some parts of the world, families walk for hours to gather twigs, scraps of wood and other burnable material to cook a hot meal. In our part of the United States, we have such an abundance of trees that we often dispose of them as if they are waste material.

Many trees fell in recent storms and unfortunately, we don’t have a system in place to make use of their potential value as building material or heating fuel. I’m dismayed when I see a pile of uprooted or slightly damaged trees that are considered a nuisance and will be burned out in the open; releasing CO2, smoke and numerous particulates.

I’m told that these trees don’t have value to “the industry.” But in our communities, there is a definite need for affordable lumber, and many homeowners heat with wood. Wood is a valuable resource that should be treated as such. Can’t we perhaps change our thinking? As a community, why don’t we work to salvage as much of that wood as we possibly can?

Local sawmills would offer skills and employment. People who want to support the local economy could make an effort to do business with local sawmills for lumber. Woodworkers could build picnic tables, lawn swings, benches, etc. Under the right conditions, biochar can be created which locks up carbon instead of releasing it. Sawdust becomes pellets, wood chips become mulch. Such activity would support a circular economy and help us thrive. Slowly, over the course of decades, trees store carbon in the form of wood. But when we burn it to ash, all of that carbon is quickly released. 

The National Association of Conservation Districts along with their state and county affiliates designated the period from April 27-May 4, 2025 as Stewardship Week. There is so much we can all do to be better stewards. We have such abundance of resources that it’s easy to forget our role in protecting them. It’s easy to take our water, soil, and forests for granted. But we shouldn’t.

Here in St. Joseph County, the Conservation District is holding its annual tree seedling sale. I hope many will choose to replace the trees that were lost in tornadoes and other violent storms. I also hope that together we can create a plan to make good use of that amazing natural resource even if mother nature forces us to find alternate uses that weren’t in the original plan.

Carol Higgins
Mendon Township

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Any views or opinions expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.