[Vwdiesel] OT Ecosystem

[Shawn Wright]

On 21 Feb 2005 at 9:00, Shirley, Mark R <MarkRShirley at eaton.com> wrote:

> > Having lived in a rainforest all my life, I am very aware of 
> > the changes in logging 
> > practices in the past 25 years. I grew up travelling the 
> > logging roads on Vancouver 
> > Island, and was comforted by the reasonable and responsible 
> > logging I saw 20 years 
> > ago, where nearly all of it was crown land. Now, contrary to 
> > what you will hear from 
> > the government and logging companies, you don't need to look 
> > far to see huge 
> > swaths of forest clearcut, and in many cases never replanted, 
> > because what was 
> > formerly crown forest lands has been sold, so re-forestation 
> > rules do not apply (or if 
> > they do, sufficient loopholes exist). Closer to urban areas, 
> > we are seeing 1000s of 
> > acres logged, then subdivided and sold as "country acreages". 
> > There is a hilltop near 
> > me that just suffered this fate - 26 lots ranging from 20 to 
> > 500 acres with more to 
> > come. Way cheaper than re-planting for the logging company. 
> > And they've been 
> > hauling logs from this area 7 days a week, dawn to dusk for 
> > months, while our mills 
> > are closing left and right - the logs are going straight to 
> > cargo ships, exporting jobs as 
> > well.
> > 
> > If you've never visited Vancouver Island, I suggest you do so 
> > soon, before one of the 
> > most beautiful places on this earth only remains preserved in 
> > a few small parks.
> > 
> > Shawn Wright
> 
> Counterpoint - my father in law owns and runs a large logging company in the 
> upper peninsula of Michigan.  I've worked beside him on his logging slasher, and
> they very responsibly harvest trees, only taking those that are 
> beneficial for the forest.  He also replants many more trees than he
> harvests.  He's worked those forests for years, and he beleives they are
> healthier now than in the past.

Kudos to him! Responsible logging companies certainly do exist, and we even have 
a few operating in BC. The largest visible problem currently seems to be too many 
loopholes allowing private landowners to clearcut large tracts of land, then sell it off 
without any requirements for reforestation. 
Healthier is an interesting point - strictly in terms of appearance and overall growth 
rate, this is probably true. We have some wonderful 2nd and 3rd growth re-planted 
forests here. But what they often lack is the diversity of species present in the original 
forest. One only has to hike among the coastal rainforest giants of Carmanah, 
Walbran and others to see this diversity. But we can't hope to reproduce this process 
perfectly of course, so our currrent reforestation practices will do. What I have a 
problem with is when greed results in any attempt to get around the need to reforest 
the land.

Shawn Wright
http://zuiko.sls.bc.ca/~swright
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