Plantation wood is good only when compare with the other alternative -- old growth. A tree grow in the tree farm is almost as good as one in the forest. Cutting grown tree is not a big problem; cutting an old growth will however distroy the habitat of other animals or plants. The owner of a tree farm will no doubt replaces the cut tree with another sapling.
Personally, I will recycle before I cut another tree, but farming tree is better to destroy the old growth. Of course, I prefer the grower not to use pesticide, but they operate on $ not econo issue.

: I don't know that taking trees from a plantation is any better than taking
: them from the forest. A plantation is essentially a farm -- the crop is
: planted in rows in a field, they get sprayed with pesticides... There is
: no biodiversity in a plantation. There's even very little biodiversity in
: 'replanted' forests -- you know, those forests where white pines have been
: planted in rows. Those forests are essentially 'dead.' Go for a hike
: through them. There are few birds chirping and squirrels rustling. There's
: no food for them in those homogeneous woods. I think harvesting forests is
: fine -- we just need to focus on letting enough of them grow back.

: Not to start a heated debate on ecology, just my $0.02...

: Dean