Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/990149
palletcentral.com PalletCentral • May-June 2018 33 On the policy side we promote best practices to protect nature, including working with the NWPCA. We believe that our high ethical standards, discussion and consensus-based approaches, and hard work in relationship building and projects over the long term serve to protect forest health worldwide. These relationships have allowed us to work with different stakeholders that comprise different parts of the integrated systems that solid wood packaging is a part of, including Customs and Border Protection, USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, the forest products industry, and of course, NWPCA, to find common ground on important forest health issues. How do healthy forests and the wood packaging industry help improve local communities? The United States is home to the world's tallest, biggest, and oldest trees. Forests cover a third of our nation and provide more than half our water. They support more than a million forest industry jobs, absorb around 15% of our carbon emissions, and offer a million square miles for hikers, hunters, and campers. More than 4,000 American plants and wildlife make a home in our forests. There is not a more valuable resource for life and livelihood on the planet, period. Maintaining durable, healthy forests goes a long way to maintaining a durable, healthy nation. How does current and future collaboration with NWPCA help advance your organization's goals? Many partners from many sectors are desperately needed to help our nation find durable solutions for healthy forests and the "Forest products that are traditionally underutilized, such as salvage lumber and small diameter trees, need demand to create sustainable markets. Durable uses such as pallets and crates present an excellent opportunity for this woody thinned material." –Christopher Topik, PhD, Director of Restoring America's Forests at The Nature Conservancy.