There are many forests in Washington. In fact, Washington is nicknamed the Evergreen State. Some of the types of trees in Washington are Cedar, Pine, Maple, Alder, Douglas Fir, Cascara, and many others. Log Truck Photo courtesy of ArtToday Trees are very important natural resources. We use trees for many different things. Trees supply many people with jobs. There are loggers, log truck drivers, people who build things with wood, people who sell things made with wood, and people employed in many other jobs that depend on trees. Many people also heat their homes with wood heat. In fact, there is so much wood being used in America to heat homes that if it were stacked a hundred feet high, it could reach from New York City to San Francisco. That is a lot of firewood. Fir Rings Photo courtesy of ArtToday People build many beautiful things with wood: houses, dressers, beds, bookshelves, desks, tables, chairs, cupboards, stairs, signs, toys, pens, and decorations. There are many other things made with wood, too. Many people build things with wood as a hobby, and many people build things to support themselves and their families. Forests provide a natural habitat for wildlife in Washington. Forests slow the water flowing down slopes, which reduces the amount of sediment runoff that contaminates rivers and streams. This keeps the water purer and helps give fish a healthier place to live. The forests also provide the earth with healthy topsoil. In the fall when the leaves and pine needles drop to the ground, they disintegrate and leave very healthy topsoil. Majestic Forest Photo courtesy of ArtToday We need to protect the forests. We should never cut down a tree within 100 feet of water. Doing this would contaminate the water and hurt the fish. When we cut down trees, we should plant new trees. This way there will always be trees available to meet our needs. If we abuse our natural resources now, we will ruin them, and they will not be here for the people of the future. This means that our children and grandchildren will not have clean pure water to drink and there won't be enough trees for them to use to make things and to keep warm. We have a responsibility to the future. We must protect our forests!

Photo in title courtesy of ArtToday.