ECOSYSTEMS AND THE NATURAL WORLD
RETIREMENT YEARS HAVE TAKEN ME ON A JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURAL WORLD AND ITS CURRENT STATUS. THIS JOURNEY WAS TRIGGERED BY CONCERNS AND OBSERVATIONS I EXPERIENCED DURING MY 34 YEARS MANAGING PUBLIC FOREST LANDS. MY CAREER WAS WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FOREST SERVICE, CHARGED WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF 193 MILLION ACRES OF FOREST AND RANGE LANDS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. THIS AGENCY WAS ONCE RECOGNIZED AS A WORLD-RENOWNED LEADER IN FOREST MANAGEMENT AND ACTIVELY ASSISTING OTHER COUNTRIES TO DEVELOP FOREST MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS. TO THIS DAY, I FEEL PRIVILEGED TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE BEEN CLOSELY INVOLVED WITH THE NATURAL WORLD.
RETIREMENT PROVIDED TIME TO REFLECT ON THE EXPERIENCES I HAD OBSERVED. I BEGAN TO SEE A PICTURE I HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE, WHICH DEVELOPED CONCERNS ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF FORESTRY. I HAD ALWAYS BEEN EAGER TO FIND NEW AND BETTER WAY TO ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, BUT TRADITIONAL METHODS SEEMED TO WIN OUT MOST OF THE TIME. THIS DIFFERENT PICTURE OF FOREST MANAGEMENT, BEGAN TO DOMINATE MY THOUGHTS AND LED TO A DESIRE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW THE NATURAL WORLD FUNCTIONED. FORESTED LANDS MAKE UP A VERY LARGE PART OF THE NATURAL WORLD, AND PREVIOUS AGENCY MANAGEMENT GOALS DID NOT SEEM TO RECOGNIZE THE CRITICAL ROLE FOREST COVERED PLAYED IN SUSTAINING LIFE ON EARTH. AS MY KNOWLEDGE LEVEL INCREASED, SOMETHING KEPT PUSHING ME TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH OTHERS.
I HAVE LONG BEEN CONCERNED THAT LEADERSHIP EXPECTS THE PUBLIC TO HELP SOLVE COMPLEX ISSUES AND PROBLEMS, BUT SELDOM PROVIDE SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO INSURE UNDERSTANDING OF THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS. OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESS EXPECTS PEOPLE, THROUGH THEIR VOTE, TO PARTICIPATE IN RATIONAL DECISION MAKING WITH EXTREMELY LIMITED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ISSUES AT HAND. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE NATURAL WORLD RESULTING FROM HUMANITY’S DEMAND FOR RESOURCES AND ENERGY, IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE. I FELT COMPELLED TO SHARE WHAT I HAD LEARNED FROM MY EXPERIENCES, OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH. WHY DID SUCH A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE NEARLY 10 MILLION DIFFERENT SPECIES WE HAVE DISCOVERED ON EARTH, REQUIRE FORESTS AND TREES FOR SURVIVAL? WHY WERE WE CLEAR-CUTTING ENTIRE MOUNTAIN SIDES, WHEN FORESTS ARE A MOSAIC OF INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITIES? WHY WERE WE PLANTING NON-INDIGENOUS TREE SPECIES IN PLANTATION WHICH DESTROYED THE NATURAL BIO-DIVERSITY OF FOREST? THE WHY WAS BECAUSE WE COULD NOT SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES! OUR TOTAL FOCUS WAS ON INCREASING THE PRODUCTION OF RESOURCES RATHER THAN UNDERSTANDING THE CRITICAL ROLE TREES PLAY IN THE SUSTENANCE OF LIFE ON EARTH.
MY FIRST EFFORT WAS A BOOK ENTITLED, TREES OF LIFE-OUR FORESTS IN PERIL. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE WAS TO INTRODUCE THE FACT THAT FORESTS WERE A MOSAIC OF SMALL INDEPENDENT COMMUNITIES, NOT ENTIRE MOUNTAIN SIDES. THESE COMMUNITIES WERE UNIQUE BASED UPON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SITE THE VEGETATION WAS GROWING ON. ALTHOUGH, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE COMMUNITIES OR ECOSYSTEMS MAY BE SUBTLE. THEY ARE IDENTIFIED BY DIFFERENT VEGETATIVE COMPOSITION, ANIMAL SPECIES AND THEIR USE PATTERNS, SOIL TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS, PLANT PRODUCTIVITY, VEGETATION DENSITY, SLOPE LOCATION AND ASPECT. AN ECOSYSTEM IS A SELF FUNCTIONING COMMUNITY WHERE A VARIETY OF PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES, WORKING TOGETHER, SUPPORT A SUSTAINABLE LIFE SYSTEM. WHEN HUMAN DEMANDS CAUSES THE LOSS OF EVEN A SINGLE SPECIES, THE ECOSYSTEM BECOMES UNBALANCED AND LOSSES ITS ABILITY TO SUSTAIN THE ESTABLISHED LIFE SYSTEMS OF THE COMMUNITY.
UNDERSTANDING THAT FORESTS ARE AN AMALGAMATION OF ECOSYSTEMS OR COMMUNITIES, LED TO THE FACT THAT OUR ENTIRE PLANET IS MADE UP OF SELF-FUNCTIONING ECOSYSTEMS, BOTH ON LAND AND WITHIN OUR SEAS. RECENT SCIENTIFIC STUDIES HAVE REVEALED THAT ONLY 3% OF ECOSYSTEMS ON EARTH’S LAND BASE ARE CONSIDERED TO BE INTACT AND FULLY FUNCTIONAL. THE CAUSE OF THIS DEGRADATION IS PRIMARILY THE RESULT OF SPECIES EXTINCTION AND HABITAT LOSS RESULTING FROM HUMAN IMPACTS. ECOSYSTEMS THAT EXPERIENCE SPECIES EXTINCTION EXPERIENCE LOSS OF BALANCE AND DIFFICULTY SUPPORTING THE NUMEROUS REMAINING SPECIES. OVER-HARVESTING, DESTRUCTION OF HABITAT AND POPULATIONS EXCEEDING THE CARRYING-CAPACITY OF THE ECOSYSTEM, ARE SOME OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR ECOSYSTEM COLLAPSE AND FAILURE. SCIENCE, ALSO, SUGGESTS THAT IF WE WERE TO MAKE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO RESTORE ECOSYSTEMS, WE WOULD PROBABLY BE LUCKY TO RETURN 20% OF THE OUT-OF-BALANCE ECOSYSTEMS TO FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE. RE-INTRODUCTION OF THE MISSING SPECIES WOULD BE THE MAIN TOOL FOR RESTITUTION. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE UNDERSTAND THERE ARE SOME SPECIES, PARTICULARLY LARGE MAMMALS, THAT INFLUENCE AND OCCUPY SEVERAL ECOSYSTEMS DUE TO THEIR LARGER HOME RANGE. THEY STILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE BALANCE AND FUNCTIONING OF THE INDIVIDUAL ECOSYSTEMS.
ALL WELL AND GOOD, BUT WHAT DOES IT MATTER? WITHOUT A BASIC APPRECIATION FOR HOW OUR MAGICAL PLANET FUNCTIONS, WE CONTINUE TO DESTROY THE VERY RELATIONSHIPS OUR LIFE-SYSTEMS REQUIRE FOR SUSTENANCE. AS ECOSYSTEMS COLLAPSE AND FAIL, SPECIES EXTINCTION ACCELERATES, INCLUDING HOMO-SAPIENS. THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTED LANDS PROVIDES AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE. CLEAR-CUTTING AND MASSIVE WILDFIRES ARE RAPIDLY DESTROYING NATURAL FOREST ECOSYSTEMS WHICH ARE REQUIRED FOR FUTURE LIFE ON EARTH. ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS, THAT BELIEVE IN THE CONCEPT OF PRESERVATION, HAVE MANAGED TO REDUCE THE TIMBER HARVESTING LEVELS ON NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS BY SIXTY TO SEVENTY PERCENT. THIS MEANS THERE HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ACRES THAT ARE ACTIVELY MANAGED, AND MORTALITY IN UN-MANAGED STANDS ARE INCREASING THE FUEL LOADS AND WILDFIRE SEVERITY. I AM NOT ADVOCATING TO CUT MORE TIMBER, BUT WE MUST MANAGE MORE ACRES. SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS DESCRIBE VARIOUS TIMBER HARVESTING PROCEDURES, AND ARE SIMPLE ONE OF MANY PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO MAINTAIN HEALTH, VIGOR, DIVERSITY AND FUEL BUILD UP. SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS MUST BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE ANY VEGETATIVE MANAGEMENT REGARDLESS OF ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY. THE PAST 20 YEARS HAS SEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE USE OF PRESCRIBED FIRE AS A TOOL TO TREAT FOREST COVER, BY THE U. S. FOREST SERVICE. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE HAS BEEN FAR TOO MANY MISTAKES THAT HAVE RESULTED IN DESTRUCTION OF ECOSYSTEMS, PERSONAL PROPERTY AND LOSS OF LIFE. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THIS TOOLS HAS LIMITED APPLICATION AND THE COSTLY ERRORS RESULT IN UNACCEPTABLE OUTCOMES. WE MUST START APPROPRIATING FUNDS TO CONDUCT TREATMENT PROGRAMS THAT FOCUS ON FOREST ECOSYSTEM VIABILITY, AND THE AMOUNT OF FOREST RESOURCES PRODUCED ARE INSUFFICIENT TO COVER THE COST OF TREATMENT. THE TREATMENT MUST FOCUS ON IMPROVEMENT OF THE FOREST COMMUNITY CONDITIONS, AND RESOURCES THAT CAN BE SALVAGED ARE THE BY-PRODUCT OF PROPER MANAGEMENT.
IMPROVING FOREST CONDITIONS IS THE WAY TO THE FUTURE! MAXIMIZING RESOURCE PRODUCTION IS NO LONGER WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS OUR MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS. HEALTH, VIGOR AND DIVERSITY IS THE GOAL, AND IT’S CALLED NATURES WAY.
RETIREMENT YEARS HAVE TAKEN ME ON A JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURAL WORLD AND ITS CURRENT STATUS. THIS JOURNEY WAS TRIGGERED BY CONCERNS AND OBSERVATIONS I EXPERIENCED DURING MY 34 YEARS MANAGING PUBLIC FOREST LANDS. MY CAREER WAS WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FOREST SERVICE, CHARGED WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF 193 MILLION ACRES OF FOREST AND RANGE LANDS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. THIS AGENCY WAS ONCE RECOGNIZED AS A WORLD-RENOWNED LEADER IN FOREST MANAGEMENT AND ACTIVELY ASSISTING OTHER COUNTRIES TO DEVELOP FOREST MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS. TO THIS DAY, I FEEL PRIVILEGED TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE BEEN CLOSELY INVOLVED WITH THE NATURAL WORLD.
RETIREMENT PROVIDED TIME TO REFLECT ON THE EXPERIENCES I HAD OBSERVED. I BEGAN TO SEE A PICTURE I HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE, WHICH DEVELOPED CONCERNS ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF FORESTRY. I HAD ALWAYS BEEN EAGER TO FIND NEW AND BETTER WAY TO ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, BUT TRADITIONAL METHODS SEEMED TO WIN OUT MOST OF THE TIME. THIS DIFFERENT PICTURE OF FOREST MANAGEMENT, BEGAN TO DOMINATE MY THOUGHTS AND LED TO A DESIRE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW THE NATURAL WORLD FUNCTIONED. FORESTED LANDS MAKE UP A VERY LARGE PART OF THE NATURAL WORLD, AND PREVIOUS AGENCY MANAGEMENT GOALS DID NOT SEEM TO RECOGNIZE THE CRITICAL ROLE FOREST COVERED PLAYED IN SUSTAINING LIFE ON EARTH. AS MY KNOWLEDGE LEVEL INCREASED, SOMETHING KEPT PUSHING ME TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH OTHERS.
I HAVE LONG BEEN CONCERNED THAT LEADERSHIP EXPECTS THE PUBLIC TO HELP SOLVE COMPLEX ISSUES AND PROBLEMS, BUT SELDOM PROVIDE SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO INSURE UNDERSTANDING OF THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS. OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESS EXPECTS PEOPLE, THROUGH THEIR VOTE, TO PARTICIPATE IN RATIONAL DECISION MAKING WITH EXTREMELY LIMITED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ISSUES AT HAND. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE NATURAL WORLD RESULTING FROM HUMANITY’S DEMAND FOR RESOURCES AND ENERGY, IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE. I FELT COMPELLED TO SHARE WHAT I HAD LEARNED FROM MY EXPERIENCES, OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH. WHY DID SUCH A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE NEARLY 10 MILLION DIFFERENT SPECIES WE HAVE DISCOVERED ON EARTH, REQUIRE FORESTS AND TREES FOR SURVIVAL? WHY WERE WE CLEAR-CUTTING ENTIRE MOUNTAIN SIDES, WHEN FORESTS ARE A MOSAIC OF INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITIES? WHY WERE WE PLANTING NON-INDIGENOUS TREE SPECIES IN PLANTATION WHICH DESTROYED THE NATURAL BIO-DIVERSITY OF FOREST? THE WHY WAS BECAUSE WE COULD NOT SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES! OUR TOTAL FOCUS WAS ON INCREASING THE PRODUCTION OF RESOURCES RATHER THAN UNDERSTANDING THE CRITICAL ROLE TREES PLAY IN THE SUSTENANCE OF LIFE ON EARTH.
MY FIRST EFFORT WAS A BOOK ENTITLED, TREES OF LIFE-OUR FORESTS IN PERIL. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE WAS TO INTRODUCE THE FACT THAT FORESTS WERE A MOSAIC OF SMALL INDEPENDENT COMMUNITIES, NOT ENTIRE MOUNTAIN SIDES. THESE COMMUNITIES WERE UNIQUE BASED UPON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SITE THE VEGETATION WAS GROWING ON. ALTHOUGH, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE COMMUNITIES OR ECOSYSTEMS MAY BE SUBTLE. THEY ARE IDENTIFIED BY DIFFERENT VEGETATIVE COMPOSITION, ANIMAL SPECIES AND THEIR USE PATTERNS, SOIL TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS, PLANT PRODUCTIVITY, VEGETATION DENSITY, SLOPE LOCATION AND ASPECT. AN ECOSYSTEM IS A SELF FUNCTIONING COMMUNITY WHERE A VARIETY OF PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES, WORKING TOGETHER, SUPPORT A SUSTAINABLE LIFE SYSTEM. WHEN HUMAN DEMANDS CAUSES THE LOSS OF EVEN A SINGLE SPECIES, THE ECOSYSTEM BECOMES UNBALANCED AND LOSSES ITS ABILITY TO SUSTAIN THE ESTABLISHED LIFE SYSTEMS OF THE COMMUNITY.
UNDERSTANDING THAT FORESTS ARE AN AMALGAMATION OF ECOSYSTEMS OR COMMUNITIES, LED TO THE FACT THAT OUR ENTIRE PLANET IS MADE UP OF SELF-FUNCTIONING ECOSYSTEMS, BOTH ON LAND AND WITHIN OUR SEAS. RECENT SCIENTIFIC STUDIES HAVE REVEALED THAT ONLY 3% OF ECOSYSTEMS ON EARTH’S LAND BASE ARE CONSIDERED TO BE INTACT AND FULLY FUNCTIONAL. THE CAUSE OF THIS DEGRADATION IS PRIMARILY THE RESULT OF SPECIES EXTINCTION AND HABITAT LOSS RESULTING FROM HUMAN IMPACTS. ECOSYSTEMS THAT EXPERIENCE SPECIES EXTINCTION EXPERIENCE LOSS OF BALANCE AND DIFFICULTY SUPPORTING THE NUMEROUS REMAINING SPECIES. OVER-HARVESTING, DESTRUCTION OF HABITAT AND POPULATIONS EXCEEDING THE CARRYING-CAPACITY OF THE ECOSYSTEM, ARE SOME OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR ECOSYSTEM COLLAPSE AND FAILURE. SCIENCE, ALSO, SUGGESTS THAT IF WE WERE TO MAKE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO RESTORE ECOSYSTEMS, WE WOULD PROBABLY BE LUCKY TO RETURN 20% OF THE OUT-OF-BALANCE ECOSYSTEMS TO FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE. RE-INTRODUCTION OF THE MISSING SPECIES WOULD BE THE MAIN TOOL FOR RESTITUTION. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE UNDERSTAND THERE ARE SOME SPECIES, PARTICULARLY LARGE MAMMALS, THAT INFLUENCE AND OCCUPY SEVERAL ECOSYSTEMS DUE TO THEIR LARGER HOME RANGE. THEY STILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE BALANCE AND FUNCTIONING OF THE INDIVIDUAL ECOSYSTEMS.
ALL WELL AND GOOD, BUT WHAT DOES IT MATTER? WITHOUT A BASIC APPRECIATION FOR HOW OUR MAGICAL PLANET FUNCTIONS, WE CONTINUE TO DESTROY THE VERY RELATIONSHIPS OUR LIFE-SYSTEMS REQUIRE FOR SUSTENANCE. AS ECOSYSTEMS COLLAPSE AND FAIL, SPECIES EXTINCTION ACCELERATES, INCLUDING HOMO-SAPIENS. THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTED LANDS PROVIDES AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE. CLEAR-CUTTING AND MASSIVE WILDFIRES ARE RAPIDLY DESTROYING NATURAL FOREST ECOSYSTEMS WHICH ARE REQUIRED FOR FUTURE LIFE ON EARTH. ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS, THAT BELIEVE IN THE CONCEPT OF PRESERVATION, HAVE MANAGED TO REDUCE THE TIMBER HARVESTING LEVELS ON NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS BY SIXTY TO SEVENTY PERCENT. THIS MEANS THERE HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ACRES THAT ARE ACTIVELY MANAGED, AND MORTALITY IN UN-MANAGED STANDS ARE INCREASING THE FUEL LOADS AND WILDFIRE SEVERITY. I AM NOT ADVOCATING TO CUT MORE TIMBER, BUT WE MUST MANAGE MORE ACRES. SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS DESCRIBE VARIOUS TIMBER HARVESTING PROCEDURES, AND ARE SIMPLE ONE OF MANY PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO MAINTAIN HEALTH, VIGOR, DIVERSITY AND FUEL BUILD UP. SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS MUST BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE ANY VEGETATIVE MANAGEMENT REGARDLESS OF ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY. THE PAST 20 YEARS HAS SEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE USE OF PRESCRIBED FIRE AS A TOOL TO TREAT FOREST COVER, BY THE U. S. FOREST SERVICE. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE HAS BEEN FAR TOO MANY MISTAKES THAT HAVE RESULTED IN DESTRUCTION OF ECOSYSTEMS, PERSONAL PROPERTY AND LOSS OF LIFE. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THIS TOOLS HAS LIMITED APPLICATION AND THE COSTLY ERRORS RESULT IN UNACCEPTABLE OUTCOMES. WE MUST START APPROPRIATING FUNDS TO CONDUCT TREATMENT PROGRAMS THAT FOCUS ON FOREST ECOSYSTEM VIABILITY, AND THE AMOUNT OF FOREST RESOURCES PRODUCED ARE INSUFFICIENT TO COVER THE COST OF TREATMENT. THE TREATMENT MUST FOCUS ON IMPROVEMENT OF THE FOREST COMMUNITY CONDITIONS, AND RESOURCES THAT CAN BE SALVAGED ARE THE BY-PRODUCT OF PROPER MANAGEMENT.
IMPROVING FOREST CONDITIONS IS THE WAY TO THE FUTURE! MAXIMIZING RESOURCE PRODUCTION IS NO LONGER WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS OUR MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS. HEALTH, VIGOR AND DIVERSITY IS THE GOAL, AND IT’S CALLED NATURES WAY.
