RE: [pct-l] Clearcuts - a bit long winded.

[Ronald Moak <ronm@fallingwater.com>]

Brick writes >> Actually a good portion of the trees logged are used as pulp
(right Craig Giffen?), even though there is a cheaper and better alternative
source for pulp<<

Actually very little of the wood (percentage wise) is use for pulp. What's
used is generally a by product of generating lumber or plywood. This is
because pulp from softwoods (Firs, pines, etc. - the evergreen family) makes
poor quality paper. The paper made is called kraft paper and is used for
paper bags, cardboard and newsprint. High quality paper used for computer
printouts, book, letters, etc.  is make from hardwoods and generally comes
from the east coast.

Brick writes >>Most of the forest I've seen logged has had the trees removed
via "Skidder and Truck" which leaves the whole area a mess. What percentage
of tree removal is done via hi-lead or in the air?<<

Different areas are logged by different means depending upon the terrain. In
the steep areas of the PNW Hi-Lead is frequently used because the steep
terrain plus it can cover large areas. A clear cut can easily span a mile
over a deep canyon. Skidders are use on flatter terrain in the foothills.
There is a lot of skidder usage in the South. 

The South, by the way is where much of the forestry operations are beginning
to shift to. Georgia Pacific and other large timber companies are moving the
head quarters to that area. Primarily because there is a shorter growing
cycle between planting and harvesting. Out here it  is generally 60 years
between planting and harvesting the trees. In the South the growing cycle is
between 15 to 25 years depending upon the type of product. Also cost of
harvesting is significantly greater here.

Greg writes >> If, as you say, clearcutting is done for reasons of biology
as much as economic, then why have the count of so many species endemic to
the forest dropped so dramatically in clearcut areas?  <<

There are many reasons for the decline in species. Only one of which is
clear cutting. Others include lost of habitat due to our building homes in
forested areas, pollution from cities drifting in. It's a complex issue that
can't be easily solved by pointing finger at one group and placing all the
blame there.

Greg writes >> I can't believe that clearcutting is actually better for the
forest than fire as you seem to suggest.<<
I don't mean to imply that clear cutting is better than fire. Only that
biologically it mimics in many ways the activities of fire. It's the way
forest managers alter the environment to mimic the natural behavior of a
species.

Greg writes >>Have the numbers of deer and elk increased dramatically in
heavily clearcut areas?  You also seem to suggest this but is this in fact
the case?<<
I don't know if the numbers of animals have increased significantly. I do
know that without some form a clearing (natural or man made) there would be
a decline in the numbers. Do you believe we should allow the forest to grow
and burn as nature provides? If so I think you'd find the mountains would
have a significant change in character. Remember the fires a few years back
in Yellowstone. The forest managers wanted the fires to burn out naturally.
It raised a significant cry from all kinds of groups, even so called
environmental groups. 

Greg writes >>No thanks, I think that I will just use the existing highways
to get near to the forests and then walk in.  I don't see the need for the
existing or more access roads.  In fact, I with Clinton on this one.  Let's
call a moratorium and start abandoning and restoring towards the original
character of the land.  <<

I agree on a moratorium and restoration should be applied in many areas. The
forests are a natural and renewable resource. I know how that may make me
sound. But I believe in sustained yields. That's cutting no more than can be
grown. Unfortunately that's not always practiced even if it is mandated by
law.

Greg writes << Every time that I am trekking through some forest and I come
across a large area of old sawed stumps, it takes away from the forest /
wilderness experience, regardless of how lush the forest may now be.  It
makes me feel that not only has man been here but he has been here doing his
ugliest work.  I guess that I like to imagine that this forest has never
seen another man and I am seeing it just as the first would have seen it.
Silly me to expect so much in a NATIONALLY OWNED area.  I also object as a
tax payer to subsidizing the lumber and cattle industries on public lands.
<<
When I wander through those same forest and look at those massive stumps 10
or 15 feet in the air, I come away with an entirely different feeling. I
wander about the men who stood high on flimsy board precariously jammed in
to a notch in the tree. Men spending hours in all kinds of weather and harsh
conditions with a whip saw trying to fell the tree. These are our fathers
and grandfathers who help build this nation we so proudly live in. Were they
greedy or just trying like us to build a better life for themselves in the
only way they knew how? I don't know, those are questions I can't answer. 
Greg I would expect we agree on more things than we disagree. Both of which
are good. Different perspectives are healthy and should be appreciated. How
boring would the world be if we all agreed on everything. 

One final thought and I off this subject.

It may come as a surprise to some that there are more trees growing in
America today than when Columbus first landed. Party because of forest
management and partly because of the control of fire. That's not to say that
there isn't room for improvement. Some areas are still over cut and there
needs to be a better balance between the competing users of the forest. 

Still on the whole I'm not terribly discouraged. I do know the forest will
return and survive. One only needs to travel the AT in New England, or to
the upper Midwest to see forests that were leveled years ago have returned.
Have they been restored to pre cut splendor? No, but they are healthy. 

As I tried to say before, the key to the forest resides as much with us as
with the forest managers. We decide each day in the homes we build and the
products we consume the future outcome of the forest. 


Ron "Fallingwater" Moak
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