Most of the nation's productive forests are in nonindustrial, private ownership. To meet projected demands, timber harvests will need to increase on these lands. Iowa, which has 0.61 million hectares (ha) or approximately 1.5 million acres of commercial forestland, could benefit from capitalizing on this demand. However, the state's timber resource has been generally under-utilized. For example, Iowans have not harvested poletimber and low-grade sawlog materials from their woodlots because the market for such products has been lacking. Killing such trees to make room for better quality material involves costs that do not immediately increase net returns; thus, incentive to manage these woodlands has not been high.

The midwestern landscape, which formerly consisted of prairies, wetlands, and forests, is now primarily devoted to agricultural purposes. Unfortunately, the resulting large-scale agricultural production has also produced nonpoint source (NPS) pollution of water, alteration of waterways, and disruption of wildlife habitat. NPS pollution, whether by sediment, fertilizers, or pesticides, is a problem nationwide. The agricultural community has addressed this problem by increasing soil conservation efforts and improving chemical application practices. One Best Management Practice (BMP) is the use of riparian (streamside) vegetative filter strips on watersheds prone to such pollution. Most such filter strips to date consist primarily of cool-season grasses.

According to the National Christmas Tree Growers Association, Christmas tree production has expanded greatly in the last five years. More than 35.4 million trees were sold in the United States in 1987, a 25.5% increase over the previous year. Even so, nationwide the industry is beginning to suffer from overexpansion, especially in the retail lot markets. Small choose-and-cut operations are still doing well, however, and in most localities, there is a shortage of this type of tree-purchasing option.