What are some main issues associated with NTFPs? Gathering forest species for food, medicine, shelter, and other uses, dates back to the first human inhabitants.  Euroamerican pioneers who settled the country also gathered nontimber resources from the forests.  Some of these traditions continue to this day and are an important part of our heritage, embedded in our cultural fabric, and part of our national identity.  Thus, it is important that new commercial industries respect and not undermine these noncommercial use patterns. Most NTFP extraction is done by harvesters working by hand.  Thousands of people across the country make part or all of their living as harvesters.  Some of these people are employees of businesses, but many are independent contractors with a vested interest in the well-being of the forest areas they harvest.  Many talk about the joy of working in the woods and their efforts to steward the land and resources they depend upon.  In recent years forest managers have restricted access to NTFP harvesters, squeezing them into smaller areas of the forest, increasing competition and tension between harvesters, and undermining stewardship incentives.  To avoid these problems, managers, harvesters, and all other stakeholders need to work closely together to educate each other and construct sensible and reasonable management approaches.