What are Non-Timber Forest Products?
Some commonly collected nontimber forest products (NTFPs)
in the U.S. include wild mushrooms, berries, ferns, tree
boughs, cones, moss, maple syrup, honey and medicinal
products like cascara bark and ginseng. The term NTFP is
not based on a biological or ecological category but rather is
a political economic category useful for highlighting overlooked
values and biodiversity that can occur when timber production
is the primary focus of forest management. The boreal,
temperate, and subtropical forests of the United States have
both an extensive diversity and density of nontimber forest
products. A flexible definition of NTFPs broadly includes all
nontimber vegetation in forests and agroforestry environments
with, or potentially with, commercial value. However, many
species with commercial value are culturally and ecologically
sensitive, two critical factors (of many considerations) that
can affect commercial viability. For example, for every
species that is harvested commercially there are likely to be
people who harvest for noncommercial reasons (e.g., family
tradition, subsistence). Other terms synonymous with
nontimber forest product include special forest product, non
wood forest product, minor forest product, alternative forest
product and secondary forest product. Other terms
synonymous with harvesting include wildcrafting, gathering,
collecting and foraging.
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