Nontimber Forest Products in the United States

Jones, Eric T., Rebecca J. McClain, and James Weigand, eds. | from Multimedia Library Collection:
Books & Profiles

Jones, Eric T., Rebecca J. McClain, and James Weigand, eds. Nontimber Forest Products in the United States. Lawrence: The University Press of Kansas, 2002.

A quiet revolution is taking place in America’s forests. Once seen primarily as stands of timber, our woodlands are now prized as a rich source of a wide range of commodities, from wild mushrooms and maple sugar to hundreds of medicinal plants whose uses have only begun to be fully realized. This book provides the first comprehensive examination of nontimber forest products (NTFPs) in the United States, illustrating their diverse importance, describing the people who harvest them, and outlining the steps that are being taken to ensure access to them. The contributors review the state of scientific knowledge of NTFPs by offering a survey of commercial and noncommercial products, an overview of uses and users, and discussions of sustainable management issues associated with ecology, cultural traditions, forest policy, and commerce. They examine some of the major social, economic, and biological benefits of NTFPs, while also addressing the potential negative consequences of NTFP harvesting on forest ecosystems and on NTFP species populations. — University Press of Kansas website.

Eric T. Jones and Rebecca J. McLain are codirectors and researchers for the Institute for Culture and Ecology in Portland, Oregon. James Weigand is a natural resource economist for the U.S. Forest Service.