SUSTAINABILITY OF WHAT?
TODAY, WE HEAR AN INCREASING REFERENCE TO “SUSTAINABILITY” WHEN FOREST MANAGERS AND SCIENTISTS DISCUSS MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTED AREAS. UNFORTUNATELY, SUSTAINABILITY HAS BEEN DEFINED AS A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF RESOURCES FROM THE FORESTS SINCE FOREST MANAGEMENT WAS FIRST INTRODUCED IN THE 1880’S. GIFFORD PINCHOT DEFINED FORESTRY AS “GROWING TREES AS CROPS”, AND IN 1905 WAS APPOINTED THE FIRST CHIEF OF THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE. A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF GOODS AND SERVICES FROM THE FORESTS BECAME THE MANAGEMENT GOAL OF THE AGENCY. THIS DEFINITION WAS RE-ENFORCED BY THE PASSAGE OF THE MULTIPLE USE SUSTAINED YIELD ACT OF 1960.
TODAY, WE FIND A FEW INDIVIDUALS AND CURRICULUMS AT NATURAL RESOURCE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WHICH FOCUS ON THE SUBJECT OF SUSTAINABILITY. WE FREQUENTLY RECEIVE NEWS OF FORESTRY GRAD STUDENTS RESEARCHING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABILITY AS PART OF THEIR MASTERS OR DOCTORATE THESIS. IT APPEARS THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTED LANDS, PARTICULARLY OUR PUBLIC FORESTED LANDS. SELDOM DO I FIND INFORMATION THAT PROVIDES THE UNDERSTANDING OF SUSTAINABILITY OF WHAT. ARE WE FOCUSED ON A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF RESOURCES FROM THE FORESTS, OR ARE WE FOCUSED ON A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF THE ELEMENTS FORESTS PROVIDE, THAT ARE VITAL TO THE SUSTENANCE OF LIFE ON EARTH? THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS IMPORTANT, AS THE VAST MAJORITY OF LIVING ORGANISMS ON OUR PLANET CAN NOT SURVIVE WITHOUT FORESTS AND TREES.
WHEN I READ LITERATURE PREPARED BY TOP MANAGEMENT OF VARIOUS AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATION, I FEEL LIKE MAYBE WE ARE FINALLY BEGINNING TO SEE THE BIG PICTURE, BUT THEN I VISIT THE LOCAL MANAGEMENT UNITS AND FIND THINGS ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN. TIMBER SALE AREAS STILL COVER LARGE AREAS WITH THE SAME SILVICULTURAL TREATMENT, CLEAR-CUTTING IS STILL THE PREFERRED TREATMENT METHOD AND TREATMENT AREAS ARE SELECTED PRIMARILY TO MEET ASSIGNED SALE TARGETS WITH LITTLE, IF ANY, ATTENTION PAID TO DIVERSITY OR ECOSYSTEM CONDITIONS AND NEEDS. THE ABILITY TO “READ THE LAND” AND PRESCRIBE THE BEST TREATMENT, SEEMS LOST IF EVER UNDERSTOOD. THE PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGISTS SPEND MOST OF THEIR TIME PREPARING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS, WITH VERY LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF DETAILED SITE CONDITIONS. THE LARGE NUMBER OF ECOSYSTEMS THAT MAKE UP THE TREATMENT AREA, ARE COMPLETELY IGNORED. WE DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL ECOSYSTEMS OR COMMUNITIES, AND THE ORIGINAL DIVERSITY IS DESTROYED RATHER THAN SUPPORTED OR ENHANCED. SCIENTISTS MUST BECOME AWARE OF THE VARIETY OF FACTORS AND CONDITIONS THAT DETERMINE THE SPECIES, DENSITY AND PRODUCTIVITY OF THE VEGETATION THAT GROWS ON INDIVIDUAL SITES WHICH PROVIDED THE NATURAL DIVERSITY IN THE ORIGINAL ECOSYSTEM. THIS INFORMATION IS ESSENTIAL TO DETERMINE BEST TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL UNITS.
ON OUR WESTERN NATIONAL FORESTS, A RANGER DISTRICT MAY INCLUDE FIVE TO SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRES, AND THE SCIENTISTS COMPLAIN THEY SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE THE TIME OR STAFF TO COLLECT INDIVIDUAL STAND DATA. I WAS THE ASSISTANT RANGER ON A 200,000 ACRE DISTRICT IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI AND THREE SCIENTISTS, INCLUDING MYSELF, IN A TWO-YEAR PERIOD MANAGED TO PERSONALLY VISIT AND MAP EACH STAND AND COLLECT THE INITIAL DATA FOR EACH UNIT. THE PROJECT FOUND THE AVERAGE SIZE OF A STAND TO BE 35 ACRES. DATA WAS RECORDED IN A SYSTEM THAT ALLOWED US TO RETRIEVE INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS VEGETATIVE CONDITIONS AND NEEDS. WE REALIZED THIS WAS JUST THE BEGINNING AND PLANNED TO FOLLOW UP TO IMPROVE THE DATA ON A TEN-YEAR CYCLE. MANY YEARS LATER, I REALIZED THAT WHAT WE CALLED STANDS WERE ACTUALLY ECOSYSTEMS OR COMMUNITIES RESULTING FROM THE SITE CHARACTERISTICS.
I HAVE SPENT A GREAT MANY HOUR’S OBSERVING WILDLIFE USE PATTERNS, WHICH HAS ENLIGHTENED ME TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY AND BALANCE WITHIN ECOSYSTEMS. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED OUR ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE AND OBSERVE THESE UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS THAT MAKE UP OUR FORESTS. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PERSONAL OBSERVATION OF ECOSYSTEM CONDITIONS WHEN DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT PRESCRIPTIONS TO MAINTAIN THE HEALTH, VIGOR AND DIVERSITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITIES. BOOTS ON THE GROUND ARE ESSENTIAL AND THE ABILITY TO READ THE LAND MANDATORY!
THE FUTURE OF MANKIND DEPENDS UPON THE EFFICIENT AND BALANCED FUNCTIONING OF OUR FOREST ECOSYSTEMS. RECENT STUDIES INDICATE ONLY 3 PERCENT OF EARTH’S ECOSYSTEMS ARE CURRENTLY IN BALANCE AND FULLY FUNCTIONAL. THIS INCLUDES ALL ECOSYSTEMS ON LAND AND SEA. THERE IS A MAJOR EFFORT NEEDED IF WE HOPE TO PROLONG MANKIND’S FUTURE, AND CHANGE MUST START NOW. A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF RENEWABLE RESOURCES FROM OUR REMAINING FORESTS WILL NOT PROVIDE OUR DESIRED FUTURE, AND THE DEMAND FOR MORE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS THE WORLD POPULATION GROWS. FOREST LAND MANAGING INSTITUTIONS MUST ADJUST THEIR GOALS AND FOCUS ON FOREST HEALTH AND DIVERSITY. SUSTAINABILITY MUST FOCUS ON THE ABILITY OF OUR SHRINKING FOREST LANDS TO SUPPLY THE ELEMENTS REQUIRED TO SUSTAIN LIFE ON PLANET EARTH! THE FOREST RESOURCES BECOME THE BY-PRODUCTS OF TREATMENTS DESIGNED FOR PROPER MANAGEMENT, NOT THE GOAL! UNDERSTANDING AND IMPLEMENTING NATURE’S WAY IS A MORE INTENSIVE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY THAN CURRENT MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHIES, BUT WILL PAY LARGE DIVIDENDS FOR HUMANITY’S FUTURE!
TODAY, WE HEAR AN INCREASING REFERENCE TO “SUSTAINABILITY” WHEN FOREST MANAGERS AND SCIENTISTS DISCUSS MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTED AREAS. UNFORTUNATELY, SUSTAINABILITY HAS BEEN DEFINED AS A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF RESOURCES FROM THE FORESTS SINCE FOREST MANAGEMENT WAS FIRST INTRODUCED IN THE 1880’S. GIFFORD PINCHOT DEFINED FORESTRY AS “GROWING TREES AS CROPS”, AND IN 1905 WAS APPOINTED THE FIRST CHIEF OF THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE. A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF GOODS AND SERVICES FROM THE FORESTS BECAME THE MANAGEMENT GOAL OF THE AGENCY. THIS DEFINITION WAS RE-ENFORCED BY THE PASSAGE OF THE MULTIPLE USE SUSTAINED YIELD ACT OF 1960.
TODAY, WE FIND A FEW INDIVIDUALS AND CURRICULUMS AT NATURAL RESOURCE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WHICH FOCUS ON THE SUBJECT OF SUSTAINABILITY. WE FREQUENTLY RECEIVE NEWS OF FORESTRY GRAD STUDENTS RESEARCHING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABILITY AS PART OF THEIR MASTERS OR DOCTORATE THESIS. IT APPEARS THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTED LANDS, PARTICULARLY OUR PUBLIC FORESTED LANDS. SELDOM DO I FIND INFORMATION THAT PROVIDES THE UNDERSTANDING OF SUSTAINABILITY OF WHAT. ARE WE FOCUSED ON A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF RESOURCES FROM THE FORESTS, OR ARE WE FOCUSED ON A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF THE ELEMENTS FORESTS PROVIDE, THAT ARE VITAL TO THE SUSTENANCE OF LIFE ON EARTH? THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS IMPORTANT, AS THE VAST MAJORITY OF LIVING ORGANISMS ON OUR PLANET CAN NOT SURVIVE WITHOUT FORESTS AND TREES.
WHEN I READ LITERATURE PREPARED BY TOP MANAGEMENT OF VARIOUS AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATION, I FEEL LIKE MAYBE WE ARE FINALLY BEGINNING TO SEE THE BIG PICTURE, BUT THEN I VISIT THE LOCAL MANAGEMENT UNITS AND FIND THINGS ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN. TIMBER SALE AREAS STILL COVER LARGE AREAS WITH THE SAME SILVICULTURAL TREATMENT, CLEAR-CUTTING IS STILL THE PREFERRED TREATMENT METHOD AND TREATMENT AREAS ARE SELECTED PRIMARILY TO MEET ASSIGNED SALE TARGETS WITH LITTLE, IF ANY, ATTENTION PAID TO DIVERSITY OR ECOSYSTEM CONDITIONS AND NEEDS. THE ABILITY TO “READ THE LAND” AND PRESCRIBE THE BEST TREATMENT, SEEMS LOST IF EVER UNDERSTOOD. THE PROFESSIONAL BIOLOGISTS SPEND MOST OF THEIR TIME PREPARING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS, WITH VERY LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF DETAILED SITE CONDITIONS. THE LARGE NUMBER OF ECOSYSTEMS THAT MAKE UP THE TREATMENT AREA, ARE COMPLETELY IGNORED. WE DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL ECOSYSTEMS OR COMMUNITIES, AND THE ORIGINAL DIVERSITY IS DESTROYED RATHER THAN SUPPORTED OR ENHANCED. SCIENTISTS MUST BECOME AWARE OF THE VARIETY OF FACTORS AND CONDITIONS THAT DETERMINE THE SPECIES, DENSITY AND PRODUCTIVITY OF THE VEGETATION THAT GROWS ON INDIVIDUAL SITES WHICH PROVIDED THE NATURAL DIVERSITY IN THE ORIGINAL ECOSYSTEM. THIS INFORMATION IS ESSENTIAL TO DETERMINE BEST TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL UNITS.
ON OUR WESTERN NATIONAL FORESTS, A RANGER DISTRICT MAY INCLUDE FIVE TO SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRES, AND THE SCIENTISTS COMPLAIN THEY SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE THE TIME OR STAFF TO COLLECT INDIVIDUAL STAND DATA. I WAS THE ASSISTANT RANGER ON A 200,000 ACRE DISTRICT IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI AND THREE SCIENTISTS, INCLUDING MYSELF, IN A TWO-YEAR PERIOD MANAGED TO PERSONALLY VISIT AND MAP EACH STAND AND COLLECT THE INITIAL DATA FOR EACH UNIT. THE PROJECT FOUND THE AVERAGE SIZE OF A STAND TO BE 35 ACRES. DATA WAS RECORDED IN A SYSTEM THAT ALLOWED US TO RETRIEVE INFORMATION FOR VARIOUS VEGETATIVE CONDITIONS AND NEEDS. WE REALIZED THIS WAS JUST THE BEGINNING AND PLANNED TO FOLLOW UP TO IMPROVE THE DATA ON A TEN-YEAR CYCLE. MANY YEARS LATER, I REALIZED THAT WHAT WE CALLED STANDS WERE ACTUALLY ECOSYSTEMS OR COMMUNITIES RESULTING FROM THE SITE CHARACTERISTICS.
I HAVE SPENT A GREAT MANY HOUR’S OBSERVING WILDLIFE USE PATTERNS, WHICH HAS ENLIGHTENED ME TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY AND BALANCE WITHIN ECOSYSTEMS. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED OUR ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE AND OBSERVE THESE UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS THAT MAKE UP OUR FORESTS. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PERSONAL OBSERVATION OF ECOSYSTEM CONDITIONS WHEN DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT PRESCRIPTIONS TO MAINTAIN THE HEALTH, VIGOR AND DIVERSITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITIES. BOOTS ON THE GROUND ARE ESSENTIAL AND THE ABILITY TO READ THE LAND MANDATORY!
THE FUTURE OF MANKIND DEPENDS UPON THE EFFICIENT AND BALANCED FUNCTIONING OF OUR FOREST ECOSYSTEMS. RECENT STUDIES INDICATE ONLY 3 PERCENT OF EARTH’S ECOSYSTEMS ARE CURRENTLY IN BALANCE AND FULLY FUNCTIONAL. THIS INCLUDES ALL ECOSYSTEMS ON LAND AND SEA. THERE IS A MAJOR EFFORT NEEDED IF WE HOPE TO PROLONG MANKIND’S FUTURE, AND CHANGE MUST START NOW. A SUSTAINABLE FLOW OF RENEWABLE RESOURCES FROM OUR REMAINING FORESTS WILL NOT PROVIDE OUR DESIRED FUTURE, AND THE DEMAND FOR MORE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS THE WORLD POPULATION GROWS. FOREST LAND MANAGING INSTITUTIONS MUST ADJUST THEIR GOALS AND FOCUS ON FOREST HEALTH AND DIVERSITY. SUSTAINABILITY MUST FOCUS ON THE ABILITY OF OUR SHRINKING FOREST LANDS TO SUPPLY THE ELEMENTS REQUIRED TO SUSTAIN LIFE ON PLANET EARTH! THE FOREST RESOURCES BECOME THE BY-PRODUCTS OF TREATMENTS DESIGNED FOR PROPER MANAGEMENT, NOT THE GOAL! UNDERSTANDING AND IMPLEMENTING NATURE’S WAY IS A MORE INTENSIVE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY THAN CURRENT MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHIES, BUT WILL PAY LARGE DIVIDENDS FOR HUMANITY’S FUTURE!
