Sustainability is at the forefront of resource discussions today. Varying definitions, lack of comparable inventories, and different value systems all challenge sustainability's use as a management concept. During the last century conservation has evolved. The pathway from "conservative lumbering," "sustained yield," "multiple use," "ecosystem management," and now "sustainable forestry" raises the question, what will be the next management umbrella?

In Forest Sustainability, Donald Floyd suggests that forest sustainability on a global basis is a distant, worthy, and perhaps unobtainable goal without significant changes in technology, population control, and human behavior.

Nevertheless, it remains a goal that we must seek, just as we strive for "perfect justice," "absolute truth," or "democracy." This monograph provides a historical context to sustainable forestry internationally with a focus on North America.