• Almost 1/3 of the United States is covered by forests! And forests cover 41% of the land in the state of Idaho. About 90% of Idaho's land that was covered by forests in the year 1630 is still covered by forests.
  
  
• In just one year, the average American consumes enough wood and paper to make up a tree 100 feet tall and 16 inches in diameter! (For you fact fans, it breaks down to 43 cubic feet of wood and 681 pounds of paper per American per year!)
  
  
• The bristlecone pine is the oldest living tree -- one specimen is 4,600 years old!
  
  
• Trees, like people, have a natural life cycle and a finite life span. Trees grow up, grow old, and eventually die. The lifespan of a tree is influenced by a variety of natural events, including the availability of water, sun, the presence or absence of wind, fires, insects, and diseases.
  
  
• The Pacific Yew tree, which grows in northern Idaho, produces a cancer-fighting agent called "taxol." Doctors use taxol to control ovarian and other types of cancer.
  
  
• Native Americans used the western redcedar tree to make totem poles and canoes. They also wove its bark into baskets, fishing nets, and fabric!
  
  
• Chemicals and other tree components are found in many everyday products -- not just in furniture and building materials! There's some part of a tree in tires, paint, adhesives, cereals, chewing gum, hair spray, mouthwash, shampoo, toothpaste, and even Twinkies^®!

Do you know some Tree Trivia?
If so, send it to us by e-mail at plt@idahoforests.org ! We may be able to use it here on the web!