The precious forest, source of forest grown hardwoods, covers 513,175 acres (801.8 square miles) and includes the Allegheny Reservoir Natural Habitat.
FOREST GROWN HARDWOODS
It is likely when you have your heart set on some wood-fired cooked foods that you give little attention to the wood that will be required for that cooking event. You may have seen wood smoker chips or chunks available in your local box store and decided that you can always pick those up last minute, to be assured your plans aren’t foiled. Or, you simply plan to go with charcoal chips without considering that this product is made from wood as well. Is the product made from something less than forest grown hardwoods? Smokinlicious® uses only forest grown hardwoods in the production of our entire line of cooking and smoking woods!
STOP and ponder this for a moment – Do you realize where exactly those wood products come from?
Unless you are in a direct county of involvement, you likely have not realized the invasions that are occurring readily to our forests, woodlots, and home landscapes.
To date, here are some of the diseases and infestations we are battling in the USA’s Precious Forest regions:
- Emerald Ash Borer
- Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
- Whitebark Pine Beatle
- Beech Bark Disease
- Dutch Elm Disease
- Butternut Canker
- Asian Longhorn Beetle
- Dogwood Anthracnose
- Gypsy Moth
- Balsam Woolly Adelgid
- Laurel Wilt disease
- Sirex Wood Wasp
- Sudden Oak Death
- Polyphagous & Kuroshio Shot Hole Borer affecting sycamores, willows, oaks, maples (including Boxelder), and commercial avocado trees.
EVERY state in the US has battled imported forest pests with the hardest hit being New York State followed closely by MA, WI, IL, VA, MI, NJ, OH, and CA. Every decade, 25 new insect pests are established in the US which can lead for potential decimate of an entire tree species in just decades.
So why if you are a lover of BBQ smoking chips or BBQ wood chunks (smoking using wood chunks or woodchips) or other wood-fired foods, should issues with bugs be of concern? Because cooking by fire is the oldest known cooking method for humankind. Right now, you may simply enjoy 3 benefits of trees: for shade, for beauty (viewing), and for a flavor to foods cooked on your grill/smoker.
But there are many other benefits to forest grown hardwoods:
- Decrease atmospheric carbon by capturing and storing CO2
- Improve air quality by filtering pollutants and releasing oxygen
- Reduce stormwater runoff and pollutants entering local water bodies
- Increase property values by 3-7%
The pollutant removal alone that trees are responsible for provides a human health benefit worth $6.8 billion per year! Trees keep us alive!
As of December 2016, NYS DEC has detected an increased prevalence of Oak Wilt in the state which has no known treatment to contain and kill this fungus. Oak is one of the most popular hardwoods for wood-fired cooking methods.
Please, take the time to source wood for cooking from reputable sources and follow the laws in place in your specific state to ensure we can limit the spread of these pests and diseases, and continue to enjoy the oldest method of cooking: by fire!
related reading on this subject!
Additional reading:
-ARE FRUITWOOD TREES LIKE THE APPLE “SNOW WHITE” BIT INTO?
-TO BARK OR NOT
-SHOULD YOU GRILL WITH MOLDY WOODS?
Purchase Products:
Wood Chips-Grande Sapore®
Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet
Dr.Smoke- “Appreciate the precious forest as our renewable resource and source for forest grown hardwoods for cooking and smoking.”