Forest Management & Sustainability
You’ve heard it since you were in grade school: “Trees are a renewable resource.” But at Carlisle the vitally important thing is how you renew that resource.
First of all, we have chosen to do business only with a select group of timber growers who share our commitment to sustainable forest management. This means not only that their trees are grown and harvested in the greenest possible manner, but also that we can maintain what foresters call a “chain of custody.” In other words, we have complete control over how every board is produced, from the forest to the floor.
When we say we only harvest trees that have been “sustainably managed,” here’s what we mean. Like everything, trees have a natural life cycle. Once a tree has reached peak maturity, it will then begin a period of slow decline. Selectively taking these older trees allows more sunlight and nutrients to reach younger trees and thus maintains the overall health of the forest for the future.
Still, we won’t cut any tree if doing so would seriously damage or impede the growth of surrounding healthy trees. Most important, we never contract with those who decimate forests by clear-cutting. In fact, Carlisle only makes use of about one tree out of 5,000.
Could we take more? Yes. But then we’d be leaving behind a whole lot less.
Forest Lane
Connecticut