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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2010)
in other words june8 2010 Voices From the Crowd: The Role of Public Forest Management in Western Oregon By Roger Lindsley Traditional forest practices have changed radically over the last 100 years. One of the most significant changes has been the role of the state in creating poli- cies and legislation to enforce policies as a rule of law. In eastern Oregon, the policies of fire suppression have cre- ated obvious and notorious management failures. Instead of stopping wildfires, these policies built up ladder fuels and increased forest densities beyond what existed pre-Anglo settlement. The forest conditions that currently exist encour- age catastrophic wildfires that endanger not just the forests themselves, but the people who live in and near them. To fix these conditions, foresters are now using harvests that mimic the role that fire plays. In eastern Oregon, forestry rediscovered nature. In western Oregon, we have a similar but almost invisible and unno- ticed drama playing out in the forests. In western Oregon, the life cycle of the forest includes catastrophic burns and wholesale replacement of the landscape in large sections. This coincidentally mimics the clearcut harvest technique. Eastern Oregon forests require thinning to mimic nature, western Oregon forests require clearcutting. After the harvest, the regeneration cycle begins. The natural regeneration system produces some of the finest timber on the planet. Following a catastrophic burn, or a clearcut, hardwood species rapidly cover the landscape. These species are fire resistant, stabilize the slopes, and fix nitrogen into the soil. Hardwood species grow fast, outpacing the native conifers for the following few decades. The conifers grow under the hardwoods, and then through the hardwoods, killing off the hardwood forest. This regrowth cycle is referred to as succession. The individual hardwood and conifer species grow in very specific places to fit into each part of the terrain. Yellow fir grows where the ground is exposed to sun and is well drained. Cedar grows in wet, dark canyons. Natural forests are made up of hundreds of plant species growing in specific places at specific times during the cycle. Replacing this natural cycle with managed replanting intended to target the best of the best commercial species is the prerogative and right of private land owners. This is exactly the same as planting corn on the plains of the Midwest. And, like planting corn, this is done with the singular purpose of bringing a specific commodity to mar- ket. In our region, that commodity is Douglas fir. That commercial forestry is a good and right thing for private busi- ness to pursue is not in question. But, what should be questioned is the role of the state in managing public forests. Why would the state compete directly with private landowners for Douglas fir production? The state is using public forests in western Oregon to maximize Douglas fir production. A major cost of this raw product is fuel for shipping, so the private landowners closest to public forests area are damaged most by this state-sponsored increase in supply. The management techniques to maximize Douglas fir production wipe “Boot Camp on the Track” FUNDRAISER Saturday, June 19, 8:30-9:45AM out much of what makes a forest a re- silient and low maintenance landscape. First, the clearcut is replanted with a few varieties of cloned species. Then chemical fertilizers are used. Then her- bicides are applied to kill off the native hardwood species. Then repeated ap- plications of herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides are used. Because the trees are virtually the same tree and the same age, any pathogen that is successful in one tree can kill off the forest. In the Tillamook burn, a fungus, Swiss Needle Cast, took over large sections and forced the state to clearcut before the best mar- ket value was reached, and then replant again. This industrial approach is his- torically justified by a few arguments: First, it creates jobs. Unfortu- nately, the biggest job killer is not the percentage of trees in the public forest that are cloned Douglas fir versus a wide variety of native firs, it is mechanization. When the Tillamook burn was replanted, it required 10 times more man hours to bring a board foot out to the mill than it does today. Will another 50 years cut another 9 out of 10 hours of labor and jobs? Use manpower to control invasive species instead of using chemicals; that is job security. Second argument, the shorter time to re-harvest increases the output of the forest tremendously over the long term. This seems to be a suspicious justification. Much of the Burn had to be harvested early, before the crop was ready. So that is 20-40 years of lost time, chemicals, planting, and then the crop was replaced by something very similar Movies in Vernonia Rabbit Proof Fence, June 17, 6:30PM, Vernonia Library Let the VHS volleyball team show you what it takes to be an athlete! All proceeds go to the 2010 Volleyball Team Fund $15/person, pre-registration required. Must pass a PAR-Q (physical activity readiness questionnaire) Registration packets available at the District Office. Contact: Head Coach Teresa Williams (503) 799-3424 fitnessbytw@netzero.com Total Body Conditioning TBA, June 18, 7:00PM, Vernonia Foursquare Church TBA, June 26, 2:00PM, children’s matinée at Vernonia Library that could endure a repeat failure. The long term is yet to be written, maybe the accelerated, chemically-managed pro- duction results in decreasing yields over time, we do not know. Third, the state is helping out the timber industry and mills. The timber in- dustry is comprised of people who invest their own capital into owning land, pay- ing taxes, and managing a specialty crop for maximum profit. These people, es- sentially everyone with any fir trees, are not helped by the state specifically mass- producing the exact same commodity as fast as possible. The state is not injured by having to slash and replant mistakes, they are using public money to buy their chemicals, they are a competitor who drives down value by increasing supply. Even worse-- because the state is also in the intensive agriculture busi- ness, there are not refuges for endan- gered and protected species. Legislation protecting owls and salmon is then ap- plied to all lands equally as if it is equal- ly the responsibility of private landown- ers and public land managers to protect these public resources. Our western Oregon public for- ests are capable of producing timber and other elements of economic value with lower management costs. Other things can come from a forest that is not chemi- cally managed as a monoculture. Hard- woods would have more economic val- ue if they were allowed to grow and be available for harvest. Northwest Timber sells single maple boards that are worth as much as half a log truck load of Doug- las fir. The funding that goes to the schools from timber sales may be im- pacted while a natural regrowth cycle is allowed to proceed. 20 million dollars a year goes to schools. But that fund is invested in Wall Street and lost 200 mil- lion in one year. The school fund should be invested in Oregon economic devel- opment, not Wall Street. Secondary in- dustries like specialty mills, and local craftsman using the milled products, are examples of what could be instead of what was lost. In a time that we are looking to cut taxes and state expenditures, it might be time to reconsider the role that the state Forestry Department plays in their management of our public forests. 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