Around the turn of the century, wood provided 75 percent of the fuel and heating needs in the United States.

Our forefathers searched for good woodlands when settling new frontiers. They recognized that the woods provided a renewable source of fuel for heating and cooking as well as building materials for new homes and businesses.

As use of the more convenient fossil fuels increased over the past 70 years, the use of wood decreased accordingly. In recent years, however, with petroleum prices increasing, wood is being considered again as a source of fuel.

Wood can be used as an energy source to provide some relief from the high cost of fuels. The majority of firewood comes from private land.

Butler County has thousands of acres of woodland. Cutting trees for firewood gives us an opportunity to help correct some of the past mistakes in forest management.

There are numerous acres without woodlot management being implemented.

In the past, many woodlands were overcut, burned, grazed and generally mismanaged. These practices resulted in stands of undesirable trees, which are crooked, diseased or otherwise unmarketable. These trees hamper the growth of the straight, healthy trees that would produce quality lumber and veneer.

A good first step in getting a woodlot in shape is cutting the undesirable trees for fuel. You could cut wood for heating and also produce quality wood products, wildlife habitat and other benefits from a well-managed woodlot.

The purpose of timber stand improvement is to free beneficial trees from competition, thin the trees to desirable numbers and remove the proper ones.

By doing this, the overall condition of the stand is improved and the wood growth is concentrated on a number of selected trees.

Timber is like any other agricultural crop — it needs care during its lifetime to produce a quality product and to give the landowner the highest financial return.

You wouldn't consider planting a crop of corn or soybeans and not going back into the field until harvest time. The same principle applies to timber — it needs some cultivation to produce a good harvest.

When a stand of trees is very young, there may be 4,000 to 5,000 seedlings growing on just one acre. The same stand may have fewer than 100 trees remaining when it is mature and ready to harvest.

Nature may thin out the surplus trees, but it may take 150 to 200 years to reach marketable size. By periodic thinning, you can improve tree quality and reduce the time span to less than 100 years.

There are benefits from thinning the larger-sized stands. First, you can remove the cull trees and undesirable species for firewood. Cull trees are those which are not marketable for anything except firewood and which are not expected marketable in the future.

After thinning, the remaining trees usually increase nut production. This provides food for wildlife as well as a seed source for your next generation of trees.

Speaking of future trees, the conservation district's annual tree seedling sale will begin soon. It is almost time to think about spring planting.

Ron Fodor is district manager of the Butler County Conservation District.