Paper birch is a fast-growing pioneer species most often used in landscaping or colonizing disturbed sites. They have white exfoliating bark, making it an attractive landscape tree commonly found around homes, public buildings, parks, and on campuses. It is often used in forested riparian buffers to help reduce stream bank erosion, protect aquatic environments, enhance wildlife, and increase biodiversity. The wood is used commercially for pulpwood, plywood, veneer, and turnery. This tree is also known as canoe birch, as it was and still is used by indigenous peoples to make canoes, buckets, and baskets. Paper birch has edible sap, inner bark, roots, and leaves. They can be tapped in the spring for sap which is used to make beer, syrup, wine, and vinegar. However, this makes them prone to bleed, so pruning should be avoided and only done in the summer if necessary. The inner bark can be dried and grounded, used as a thickener in soups or added to flour for bread. Finally, the root bark & young leaves can be steeped as a tea with a flavor similar to green tea or wintergreen. Wildlife also use paper birch as food, white-tailed deer and rabbits browse them heavily in the winter and the buds, catkins, and seeds are eaten by birds and small mammals.