ECOLOGY, RELIGION AND THE SCIENCE OF FORESTRY
CHAPTER TWO
THERE IS MORE TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF CREATION THAN THE CONNECTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MILLIONS OF ORGANISMS THAT MAKE UP LIFE ON PLANET EARTH. AS I SAT IN MY DEER BLIND AND OBSERVED THE MAKEUP AND ACTIVITY WITHIN THE DIFFERENT FOREST COMMUNITIES, I FINALLY BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND THE NECESSITY OF DIVERSITY. THE DIVERSITY OF THE SITE AND THE SOIL TYPES AND CHARACTERISTIC CHANGED, THE VARIETY OF ORGANISMS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES ALSO CHANGED. I THOUGHT BACK TO MY EARLY YEARS ON THE MARK TWAIN NATIONAL FOREST IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI, AND MY EFFORT TO IDENTIFY AND RECORD THE DIFFERENT TREE STANDS ON THE 200,000 ACRE WILLOW SPRINGS RANGER DISTRICT. MY EFFORT WAS TO DEVELOP A DATA BASE OF SITE-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR EACH STAND, WHICH WOULD IDENTIFY TREATMENT NEEDS AND PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRIORITIZE THE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS FOR FUTURE YEARS. WHILE I INVENTORIED THE VEGETATION ECOSYSTEMS, A SOIL SCIENTIST INVENTORIED THE SOIL AND SITE CHARACTERISTICS. WHEN COMPLETED AND OVERLAY-ED THE TWO MAPS WERE UNBELIEVABLY VERY SIMILAR.
I WAS ALSO REMINDED OF MY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE FIGHTING WILDFIRES, AND HOW WE STUDIED VEGETATION CHANGES TO IDENTIFY WHERE TO APPLY VARIOUS SUPPRESSION EFFORTS. WE KNEW THE FIRE BEHAVIOR WOULD CHANGE AS THE VEGETATIVE TYPES CHANGED AND WE MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE TO GAIN THE UPPER HAND. IGNORING THESE COMMUNITY DIFFERENCES AND CREATING LARGE PLANTATIONS, I REALIZED WAS DESTROYING BIO-DIVERSITY AND SETTING THE STAGE FOR FUTURE CATASTROPHIC EVENTS.
MY EXPERIENCES AND OBSERVATIONS REQUIRED A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF CREATION AND DIVERSITY. IT BECAME OBVIOUS, THAT DIVERSITY WAS ANOTHER ESSENTIAL ELEMENT DESIGNED INTO CREATION. MY MARK TWAIN PROJECT HAD DEMONSTRATED THAT INDIVIDUAL FOREST COMMUNITIES WERE THE RESULT OF THE SITE CHARACTERISTICS THE VEGETATION WAS GROWING ON. SOILS, SLOPE, ELEVATION, ASPECT AND MOISTURE AVAILABILITY; ACCOUNTED FOR TYPE AND DIVERSITY OF SPECIES WITHIN EACH COMMUNITY.
IN THE EARLY 1960’S, THE RESEARCH DIVISION OF THE FOREST SERVICE, SUGGESTED ADOPTING THE SILVICULTURAL SYSTEM OF CLEAR-CUTTING AS THE PREFERRED TREATMENT METHOD FOR ALL TIMBER TYPES. IT WAS ENACTED BY THE AGENCY, EVEN THOUGH THE SUGGESTION WAS BASED STRICTLY ON HARVESTING EFFICIENCIES AND PROFITABILITY, NOT HEALTH AND DIVERSITY. I DID MANAGED TO IMPLEMENT AN AMENDMENT FOR “CENTRAL HARDWOOD” TYPES THAT SOFTENED THE USE OF CLEAR-CUTTING FOR THOSE STANDS, BUT CLEAR-CUT AND PLANT BECAME THE DOMINANT PRESCRIPTION.
I HAD HEARD THE TERM BIO-DIVERSITY ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, BUT NEVER TOOK THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANT OR WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT IN FOREST MANAGEMENT. THE MORE I OBSERVED FROM MY DEER BLIND THE MORE I BEGAN TO REALIZE THE IMPORTANT ROLE DIVERSITY PLAYED IN THE FOREST COMMUNITY MAKEUP AND ACTIVITIES. I FINALLY REALIZED DIVERSITY WAS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT, DESIGNED INTO CREATION, THAT SUPPORTED LIFE WITHIN THE VARIOUS FOREST COMMUNITIES. IT BECAME APPARENT THAT DIVERSITY WAS NOT ONLY CRITICAL IN FORESTS, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN THE ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONING OF EVEN HUMAN COMMUNITIES. I COULD NOW SEE THAT DESTROYING BIO-DIVERSITY WITHIN ANY ECOSYSTEM RESULTS IN COLLAPSE AND FAILURE. THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN COMMUNITIES, REGARDLESS OF SPECIES, BECAME APPARENT AND THE RELIANCE OF HUMANITY ON THE NATURAL WORLD AND ITS DIVERSITY WAS CONFIRMED. AT THIS POINT, MY FOCUS CHANGED TO A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HUMANITY’S CONNECTION TO THE NATURAL WORLD. I NOW REALIZED THE EXTENT OF DIVERSITY IS THE MEASURE OF PERFECTION!
THERE WAS STILL MORE TO THE MAGIC OF CREATION. EVERY YEAR WE TRANSITION FROM THE NEW LIFE OS SPRING TO THE PURIFICATION PERIOD OF WINTER, AND ARE PRIVILEGED TO OBSERVE THE REGENERATIVE POWER OF MOTHER EARTH. ONCE AGAIN THIS IS AN ELEMENT THAT HAS BEEN DESIGNED INTO THE CREATION OF THIS MAJESTIC PLANET. IT IS THIS ELEMENT THAT OFFERS HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. WHAT WE DO TO EARTH, WE DO TO OURSELVES, AND THE DAMAGE WE HAVE DONE TO EARTH WE CAN ASSIST IN REGENERATING.
YES, THE STORY OF CREATION OF PLANET EARTH IS TRULY MAGICAL, AND THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS THAT EIGHT BILLION HUMAN BEINGS HAVE HAD ON NATURE, HAS DRASTICALLY REDUCED EARTH’S ABILITY TO SUSTAIN LIFE IN THE FUTURE. THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTED LANDS MUST CHANGE TO A FOCUS ON UNIQUE FOREST COMMUNITIES AND INCORPORATE ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES THAT PROTECT THE RELATIONSHIPS VITAL TO HEALTHY AND DIVERSE COMMUNITIES. RELIGION, WHERE THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF CREATION ORIGINATED, MUST STEP FORWARD TO LEAD THE PUBLIC TO A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEXITY OF CREATION. ACADEMIA MUST EMPHASIZE AND PROVIDE THE ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATION THAT ENLIGHTENS FUTURE GRADUATES OF THE VIDAL RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE NATURAL WORLD. WITH OUR CURRENT WORLD POPULATION, NATURE REQUIRES HELP. THAT HELP MUST MAKE DISCUSSIONS BASED ON FULL KNOWLEDGE OF ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND THE VIDAL CONNECTIONS THAT ALLOW LIFE TO CONTINUE TO FUNCTION.
WE ARE CURRENTLY OBSERVING OUR COUNTRY’S POLITICAL INSTITUTION’S INABILITY TO UNDERSTAND AND IMPLEMENT A FEW SIMPLE EFFORTS TO ATTEMPT TO LIMIT CHANGING CLIMATE CONDITIONS. ACTUALLY, CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONLY A SYMPTOM OF THE UNDERLYING PROBLEMS. THE TWO ISSUES REQUIRING RESOLUTION ARE POPULATION EXPANSION AND DEFORESTATION.
OUR FUTURE DEPENDS UPON A STRONG PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ECOLOGY, FOREST SCIENCE AND RELIGION. MOTHER EARTH WILL RESPOND TO THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC! WE CAN DO THIS EVEN THOUGH SCIENCE TELLS US TIME IS RUNNING OUT. AN APPRECIATION OF ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES, INFORMING THE PEOPLE OF A GREEN GOSPEL AND PUBLIC DEMANDS FOR REALISTIC SOLUTIONS AND ACTIONS, IS THE WAY TO A DESIRABLE FUTURE! THE STATUS- QUE IS UNACCEPTABLE!
CHAPTER TWO
THERE IS MORE TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF CREATION THAN THE CONNECTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MILLIONS OF ORGANISMS THAT MAKE UP LIFE ON PLANET EARTH. AS I SAT IN MY DEER BLIND AND OBSERVED THE MAKEUP AND ACTIVITY WITHIN THE DIFFERENT FOREST COMMUNITIES, I FINALLY BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND THE NECESSITY OF DIVERSITY. THE DIVERSITY OF THE SITE AND THE SOIL TYPES AND CHARACTERISTIC CHANGED, THE VARIETY OF ORGANISMS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES ALSO CHANGED. I THOUGHT BACK TO MY EARLY YEARS ON THE MARK TWAIN NATIONAL FOREST IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI, AND MY EFFORT TO IDENTIFY AND RECORD THE DIFFERENT TREE STANDS ON THE 200,000 ACRE WILLOW SPRINGS RANGER DISTRICT. MY EFFORT WAS TO DEVELOP A DATA BASE OF SITE-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR EACH STAND, WHICH WOULD IDENTIFY TREATMENT NEEDS AND PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRIORITIZE THE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS FOR FUTURE YEARS. WHILE I INVENTORIED THE VEGETATION ECOSYSTEMS, A SOIL SCIENTIST INVENTORIED THE SOIL AND SITE CHARACTERISTICS. WHEN COMPLETED AND OVERLAY-ED THE TWO MAPS WERE UNBELIEVABLY VERY SIMILAR.
I WAS ALSO REMINDED OF MY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE FIGHTING WILDFIRES, AND HOW WE STUDIED VEGETATION CHANGES TO IDENTIFY WHERE TO APPLY VARIOUS SUPPRESSION EFFORTS. WE KNEW THE FIRE BEHAVIOR WOULD CHANGE AS THE VEGETATIVE TYPES CHANGED AND WE MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE TO GAIN THE UPPER HAND. IGNORING THESE COMMUNITY DIFFERENCES AND CREATING LARGE PLANTATIONS, I REALIZED WAS DESTROYING BIO-DIVERSITY AND SETTING THE STAGE FOR FUTURE CATASTROPHIC EVENTS.
MY EXPERIENCES AND OBSERVATIONS REQUIRED A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF CREATION AND DIVERSITY. IT BECAME OBVIOUS, THAT DIVERSITY WAS ANOTHER ESSENTIAL ELEMENT DESIGNED INTO CREATION. MY MARK TWAIN PROJECT HAD DEMONSTRATED THAT INDIVIDUAL FOREST COMMUNITIES WERE THE RESULT OF THE SITE CHARACTERISTICS THE VEGETATION WAS GROWING ON. SOILS, SLOPE, ELEVATION, ASPECT AND MOISTURE AVAILABILITY; ACCOUNTED FOR TYPE AND DIVERSITY OF SPECIES WITHIN EACH COMMUNITY.
IN THE EARLY 1960’S, THE RESEARCH DIVISION OF THE FOREST SERVICE, SUGGESTED ADOPTING THE SILVICULTURAL SYSTEM OF CLEAR-CUTTING AS THE PREFERRED TREATMENT METHOD FOR ALL TIMBER TYPES. IT WAS ENACTED BY THE AGENCY, EVEN THOUGH THE SUGGESTION WAS BASED STRICTLY ON HARVESTING EFFICIENCIES AND PROFITABILITY, NOT HEALTH AND DIVERSITY. I DID MANAGED TO IMPLEMENT AN AMENDMENT FOR “CENTRAL HARDWOOD” TYPES THAT SOFTENED THE USE OF CLEAR-CUTTING FOR THOSE STANDS, BUT CLEAR-CUT AND PLANT BECAME THE DOMINANT PRESCRIPTION.
I HAD HEARD THE TERM BIO-DIVERSITY ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, BUT NEVER TOOK THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANT OR WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT IN FOREST MANAGEMENT. THE MORE I OBSERVED FROM MY DEER BLIND THE MORE I BEGAN TO REALIZE THE IMPORTANT ROLE DIVERSITY PLAYED IN THE FOREST COMMUNITY MAKEUP AND ACTIVITIES. I FINALLY REALIZED DIVERSITY WAS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT, DESIGNED INTO CREATION, THAT SUPPORTED LIFE WITHIN THE VARIOUS FOREST COMMUNITIES. IT BECAME APPARENT THAT DIVERSITY WAS NOT ONLY CRITICAL IN FORESTS, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN THE ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONING OF EVEN HUMAN COMMUNITIES. I COULD NOW SEE THAT DESTROYING BIO-DIVERSITY WITHIN ANY ECOSYSTEM RESULTS IN COLLAPSE AND FAILURE. THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN COMMUNITIES, REGARDLESS OF SPECIES, BECAME APPARENT AND THE RELIANCE OF HUMANITY ON THE NATURAL WORLD AND ITS DIVERSITY WAS CONFIRMED. AT THIS POINT, MY FOCUS CHANGED TO A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HUMANITY’S CONNECTION TO THE NATURAL WORLD. I NOW REALIZED THE EXTENT OF DIVERSITY IS THE MEASURE OF PERFECTION!
THERE WAS STILL MORE TO THE MAGIC OF CREATION. EVERY YEAR WE TRANSITION FROM THE NEW LIFE OS SPRING TO THE PURIFICATION PERIOD OF WINTER, AND ARE PRIVILEGED TO OBSERVE THE REGENERATIVE POWER OF MOTHER EARTH. ONCE AGAIN THIS IS AN ELEMENT THAT HAS BEEN DESIGNED INTO THE CREATION OF THIS MAJESTIC PLANET. IT IS THIS ELEMENT THAT OFFERS HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. WHAT WE DO TO EARTH, WE DO TO OURSELVES, AND THE DAMAGE WE HAVE DONE TO EARTH WE CAN ASSIST IN REGENERATING.
YES, THE STORY OF CREATION OF PLANET EARTH IS TRULY MAGICAL, AND THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS THAT EIGHT BILLION HUMAN BEINGS HAVE HAD ON NATURE, HAS DRASTICALLY REDUCED EARTH’S ABILITY TO SUSTAIN LIFE IN THE FUTURE. THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTED LANDS MUST CHANGE TO A FOCUS ON UNIQUE FOREST COMMUNITIES AND INCORPORATE ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES THAT PROTECT THE RELATIONSHIPS VITAL TO HEALTHY AND DIVERSE COMMUNITIES. RELIGION, WHERE THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF CREATION ORIGINATED, MUST STEP FORWARD TO LEAD THE PUBLIC TO A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEXITY OF CREATION. ACADEMIA MUST EMPHASIZE AND PROVIDE THE ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATION THAT ENLIGHTENS FUTURE GRADUATES OF THE VIDAL RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE NATURAL WORLD. WITH OUR CURRENT WORLD POPULATION, NATURE REQUIRES HELP. THAT HELP MUST MAKE DISCUSSIONS BASED ON FULL KNOWLEDGE OF ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND THE VIDAL CONNECTIONS THAT ALLOW LIFE TO CONTINUE TO FUNCTION.
WE ARE CURRENTLY OBSERVING OUR COUNTRY’S POLITICAL INSTITUTION’S INABILITY TO UNDERSTAND AND IMPLEMENT A FEW SIMPLE EFFORTS TO ATTEMPT TO LIMIT CHANGING CLIMATE CONDITIONS. ACTUALLY, CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONLY A SYMPTOM OF THE UNDERLYING PROBLEMS. THE TWO ISSUES REQUIRING RESOLUTION ARE POPULATION EXPANSION AND DEFORESTATION.
OUR FUTURE DEPENDS UPON A STRONG PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ECOLOGY, FOREST SCIENCE AND RELIGION. MOTHER EARTH WILL RESPOND TO THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC! WE CAN DO THIS EVEN THOUGH SCIENCE TELLS US TIME IS RUNNING OUT. AN APPRECIATION OF ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES, INFORMING THE PEOPLE OF A GREEN GOSPEL AND PUBLIC DEMANDS FOR REALISTIC SOLUTIONS AND ACTIONS, IS THE WAY TO A DESIRABLE FUTURE! THE STATUS- QUE IS UNACCEPTABLE!
