Discover how public forests supply vital food and medicine, supporting millions while highlighting the need for better management of these invaluable resources.
Study: Provisioning Food and Medicine from Public Forests in the United States. Image Credit: Phanom Nuangchomphoo / Shutterstock
Scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service have conducted a study to estimate the amount of food and medicine harvested from forests in the United States.
The study is published in the journal Trees, Forests and People.
Background
Harvesting wild flora and fauna is the most conventional way of directly or indirectly supporting the nutritional, medicinal, cultural, and economic needs of billions of people worldwide. However, this leads to a substantial loss of forests and grassland biodiversity.
Forest lands produce a remarkable amount of food annually. Forest-harvested products serve as crucial dietary and medicinal components for many communities. Recent evidence indicates that the average amount of forest plant-based foods collected by European households is approximately 60 kilograms annually.
Regarding wild animal hunting, evidence indicates that approximately 26 thousand metric tons of wild meat were sold in the European market in 2005. In the United States, recent estimates suggest that approximately 14.4 million people obtain wild meat from hunting.
Rural communities and Indigenous people across the United States substantially rely on forest foods. However, the contribution of forests in providing these necessities is not well documented.
The study also highlights that subsistence harvesting is often tied to cultural practices and community well-being, making these resources critical beyond their economic value.
In this study, scientists estimated the amount of food and medicine harvested from public forest lands and the amount of meat generated through grazing domesticated livestock on public forest lands. They have also estimated the amounts of food derived from hunting, fishing, and foraging in the forests of Southeast Alaska.
Study Design
The study estimations were done using publicly available data, hunting surveys, and proprietary data from the Wild Harvest Initiative.
The researchers applied statistical modeling to address gaps in data and provide accurate projections, although they acknowledged limitations due to incomplete reporting and variability in harvesting patterns.
Data was extrapolated to provide estimates of meal servings based on accepted standards.
Important Observations
The overall estimation of plant-based food and medicine revealed that public forest lands provide large amounts of biomass.
Over the ten years (2013 – 2022), about 9.25 million liters and 2000 metric tons of food and medicine were harvested from US forest public lands, accounting for almost two million servings per year.
The US agencies (the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management) receive, on average, approximately $570 thousand dollars in receipts from permits to harvest food and medicine.
From 2013 to 2022, these agencies received approximately 5.7 million dollars in receipts for these products. A decline in estimated harvesting reduced the estimated wholesale value of forest-harvested food and medicine during this period.
Approximately 9.9 million animals were harvested annually from public forest lands, producing more than 68 thousand metric tons of wild meat, equivalent to 437 million servings.
The authorized number of animals grazing for a period of 30 days surpassed 15 million from 2007 to 2022. During this period, approximately three million metric tons of meat were derived from domesticated livestock grazing on public lands.
Researchers observed that hunting and foraging on forest lands remain integral to food security in rural areas, particularly in the western U.S., where public lands dominate the landscape.
Subsistence Harvest in Alaska
The study estimated the amounts of foods derived from hunting, fishing, and foraging in forests of Southeast Alaska to demonstrate the potential benefits associated with these resources.
The analysis revealed that households in rural communities across Southeast Alaska harvested an estimated 2,055 metric tons of wild food, encompassing 157 taxa per year.
About 66% of the total harvest and 76% of the total taxa were directly dependent on public forest lands, with large land mammals and salmon being the largest contributors.
Fish and invertebrates were the major harvested species in the marine environment, and they were categorized as indirectly supported by forests.
The estimation of annual servings of each food group revealed that fruits and vegetables account for about 722 thousand servings, and large land mammals account for more than 2.2 million servings.
The study notes that subsistence practices in Alaska are uniquely protected under state and federal laws, ensuring that these vital resources remain accessible to rural and Indigenous communities.
Study Significance
The study firmly supports the well-known fact that a large volume of forest-harvested flora and fauna contribute to the health and well-being of a significant proportion of the US general population.
According to the study estimates, more than 255 thousand metric tons of forest foods and medicines are harvested across public lands in the United States. This figure highlights the often-overlooked role of forests in providing sustainable, natural resources to meet growing nutritional demands.
In addition to highlighting the significance of harvesting wild flora and fauna in the United States, the case study of subsistence harvest in Southeast Alaska clearly depicts the potential benefits of recognizing the importance of these natural resources to its residents.
The researchers emphasize that improved data collection and reporting could provide a more comprehensive understanding of these resources, supporting better forest management and conservation practices.
An improvement in land management and food security and more effective utilization of natural resources can be achieved through rigorous institutional efforts recognizing the importance of forest food and medicines to people and communities.