CHANGING OUR PERCEPTION OF FORESTS
SINCE THE SCIENCE OF FORESTRY ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES, IT HAS BEEN SEEN AS AN AGRICULTURAL PROCESS. IN FACT, THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE WAS PLACED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BECAUSE THE FIRST CHIEF OF THE AGENCY, GIFFORD PINCHOT, DEFINED THE SCIENCE AS “GROWING TREES AS CROPS”. AFTER A 34 YEAR CAREER WITH THE FOREST SERVICE, I NOW SEE THE SCIENCE OF FORESTRY AS FAR MORE COMPLEX THEN SIMPLY FOLLOWING AGRICULTURAL PRINCIPLES.
FIELDS OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS ARE MAN CREATED FOR THE PURPOSE OF GROWING A VARIETY OF FOODS FOR MANKIND AND LIVESTOCK. ALTHOUGH, THERE ARE SOME PLANTS THAT ARE PERENNIALS, MOST ARE ANNUALS REQUIRING REPLANTING AND CULTIVATING EVERY YEAR. THE FOOD SUPPLY IS OBVIOUSLY CRITICAL FOR HUMANITY’S SURVIVAL, BUT ARTIFICIAL COMMUNITIES ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE THE ELEMENTS REQUIRED FOR THE SUSTENANCE OF LIFE ON EARTH. THEY ARE NOT PART OF THE NATURAL WORLD.
FORESTS, HOWEVER, ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF EIGHTY PERCENT OF ALL LIVING ORGANISMS ON OUR PLANET. IN 2007, THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SPONSORED A REPORT ON ABUSE; IN WHICH SCIENTIST SUGGESTED THAT ONE SINGLE TREE OVER A 50 YEAR LIFE CYCLE, CONTRIBUTES $162,000.00 WORTH OF REQUIRED ELEMENTS THAT SUSTAIN LIFE ON EARTH. MANAGING FORESTS IS FAR MORE COMPLEX THAN GROWING TREES AS CROPS!
WE NEED TO SEE FORESTS IN A MUCH DIFFERENT AND MORE DETAILED WAY. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE RECOGNIZE FORESTS ARE A MOSAIC OF COMMUNITIES OR ECOSYSTEMS, AND NOT VAST AREAS COVERED WITH TREES. FOREST SCIENTISTS MUST LEARN TO “READ THE LAND”. WE ARE ALL AWARE THAT VEGETATIVE TYPES AND CONDITIONS ARE A PRODUCT OF THE SIGHT THE VEGETATION IS GROWING ON. SLOPE, ELEVATION, SOIL TYPE, SOIL CHARACTERISTICS, ASPECT, AND AVAILABLE MOISTURE; ALL EFFECT THE SPECIES DIVERSITY AND GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VEGETATION ON EACH ECOSYSTEM. UNTIL WE MANAGE EACH ECOSYSTEM OR COMMUNITY FOR IT’S INDIVIDUAL NEEDS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO DESTROY DIVERSITY. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR NATURAL REGENERATION BY THE MOTHER TREES.
ESTABLISHING PLANTATIONS OF SINGLE SPECIES AND SINGLE AGE CLASSES DESTROY THE ABILITY OF THE TREES TO COMMUNICATE AND CARE FOR EACH OTHER. YES, MOTHER TREES NOT ONLY CAN IDENTIFY THEIR OFFSPRING, BUT FEED THEM DURING STRESSFUL TIMES. READ FOREST ECOLOGIST SUZANNE SIMARD’S BOOK, “FINDING THE MOTHER TREE”. NATURAL REGENERATION FROM NATIVE SEED SOURCES IS A MUST IN ESTABLISHING THE DIVERSITY OF THE ORIGINAL FOREST ECOSYSTEM. REGARDLESS OF YOUR ATTEMPTS TO CREATE ARTIFICIAL PLANTATIONS, NATURES SITE CONDITIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS WILL OVER-WHELM YOUR EFFORTS. THE INTRODUCTION OF NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES WILL FURTHER ACERBATE THE SITUATION, DESTROY DIVERSITY AND SET THE STAGE FOR FUTURE CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRES AND INSECT AND DISEASE OUTBREAKS.
MOST TREES OUT LIVE HUMANS, SOME BY THOUSANDS OF YEARS. WE HAVE BRISTLECONE PINE TREES ON THE WEST COAST THAT ARE OVER 3000 YEARS OLD. THE GIANT SEQUOIA TREES IN CALIFORNIA LIVE TO BE OVER 2000 YEARS OF AGE. I RECENTLY VISITED A COMMUNITY IN SOUTHERN VIRGINIA, AND TOOK AN HISTORIC TOUR THROUGH THE OLD PART OF TOWN WHERE SOME BUILDINGS WERE CONSTRUCTED OVER 250 YEARS AGO. SOME OF THE OAK AND MAPLE TREES ON THE GROUNDS WERE OBVIOUSLY PRESENT WHEN THE BUILDINGS WERE CONSTRUCTED, AND PROBABLY OVER 300 YEARS OLD NOW.
THE LIFE SPAN, COMPLEX CONTRIBUTIONS TREES PROVIDE TO SUSTAIN LIFE, THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY IN OUR NATURAL WORLD AND THE POSITIVE EFFECTS FORESTS HAVE ON CLIMATIC CONDITIONS; SUPPORTS THE FACT THAT FOREST SCIENCE IS FAR MORE COMPLEX THAN “GROWING TREES AS CROPS”. THE FUTURE DEMANDS A STRONG FOUNDATION IN ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND THE ABILITY TO “READ THE LAND”. IN OTHER WORDS, OUR PERCEPTION OF FORESTS IS INADEQUATE, AND WITHOUT CHANGE HUMANITY’S FUTURE REMAINS QUESTIONABLE. I AM NOT SUGGESTING CHANGING CURRENT ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE OF TODAY’S FOREST LAND MANAGING AGENCIES, BUT I AM STRONGLY SUGGESTING MAJOR CHANGES IN MANAGEMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR OUR REMAINING PUBLIC FOREST COVERED LANDS. THESE LANDS ARE A LARGE PART OF OUR REMAINING NATURAL WORLD, AND REQUIRE SCIENTIFIC HELP TO PROVIDE FOR THE SUSTENANCE OF LIFE, INCLUDING HUMANS.
SINCE THE SCIENCE OF FORESTRY ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES, IT HAS BEEN SEEN AS AN AGRICULTURAL PROCESS. IN FACT, THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE WAS PLACED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BECAUSE THE FIRST CHIEF OF THE AGENCY, GIFFORD PINCHOT, DEFINED THE SCIENCE AS “GROWING TREES AS CROPS”. AFTER A 34 YEAR CAREER WITH THE FOREST SERVICE, I NOW SEE THE SCIENCE OF FORESTRY AS FAR MORE COMPLEX THEN SIMPLY FOLLOWING AGRICULTURAL PRINCIPLES.
FIELDS OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS ARE MAN CREATED FOR THE PURPOSE OF GROWING A VARIETY OF FOODS FOR MANKIND AND LIVESTOCK. ALTHOUGH, THERE ARE SOME PLANTS THAT ARE PERENNIALS, MOST ARE ANNUALS REQUIRING REPLANTING AND CULTIVATING EVERY YEAR. THE FOOD SUPPLY IS OBVIOUSLY CRITICAL FOR HUMANITY’S SURVIVAL, BUT ARTIFICIAL COMMUNITIES ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE THE ELEMENTS REQUIRED FOR THE SUSTENANCE OF LIFE ON EARTH. THEY ARE NOT PART OF THE NATURAL WORLD.
FORESTS, HOWEVER, ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE SURVIVAL OF EIGHTY PERCENT OF ALL LIVING ORGANISMS ON OUR PLANET. IN 2007, THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SPONSORED A REPORT ON ABUSE; IN WHICH SCIENTIST SUGGESTED THAT ONE SINGLE TREE OVER A 50 YEAR LIFE CYCLE, CONTRIBUTES $162,000.00 WORTH OF REQUIRED ELEMENTS THAT SUSTAIN LIFE ON EARTH. MANAGING FORESTS IS FAR MORE COMPLEX THAN GROWING TREES AS CROPS!
WE NEED TO SEE FORESTS IN A MUCH DIFFERENT AND MORE DETAILED WAY. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE RECOGNIZE FORESTS ARE A MOSAIC OF COMMUNITIES OR ECOSYSTEMS, AND NOT VAST AREAS COVERED WITH TREES. FOREST SCIENTISTS MUST LEARN TO “READ THE LAND”. WE ARE ALL AWARE THAT VEGETATIVE TYPES AND CONDITIONS ARE A PRODUCT OF THE SIGHT THE VEGETATION IS GROWING ON. SLOPE, ELEVATION, SOIL TYPE, SOIL CHARACTERISTICS, ASPECT, AND AVAILABLE MOISTURE; ALL EFFECT THE SPECIES DIVERSITY AND GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VEGETATION ON EACH ECOSYSTEM. UNTIL WE MANAGE EACH ECOSYSTEM OR COMMUNITY FOR IT’S INDIVIDUAL NEEDS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO DESTROY DIVERSITY. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR NATURAL REGENERATION BY THE MOTHER TREES.
ESTABLISHING PLANTATIONS OF SINGLE SPECIES AND SINGLE AGE CLASSES DESTROY THE ABILITY OF THE TREES TO COMMUNICATE AND CARE FOR EACH OTHER. YES, MOTHER TREES NOT ONLY CAN IDENTIFY THEIR OFFSPRING, BUT FEED THEM DURING STRESSFUL TIMES. READ FOREST ECOLOGIST SUZANNE SIMARD’S BOOK, “FINDING THE MOTHER TREE”. NATURAL REGENERATION FROM NATIVE SEED SOURCES IS A MUST IN ESTABLISHING THE DIVERSITY OF THE ORIGINAL FOREST ECOSYSTEM. REGARDLESS OF YOUR ATTEMPTS TO CREATE ARTIFICIAL PLANTATIONS, NATURES SITE CONDITIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS WILL OVER-WHELM YOUR EFFORTS. THE INTRODUCTION OF NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES WILL FURTHER ACERBATE THE SITUATION, DESTROY DIVERSITY AND SET THE STAGE FOR FUTURE CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRES AND INSECT AND DISEASE OUTBREAKS.
MOST TREES OUT LIVE HUMANS, SOME BY THOUSANDS OF YEARS. WE HAVE BRISTLECONE PINE TREES ON THE WEST COAST THAT ARE OVER 3000 YEARS OLD. THE GIANT SEQUOIA TREES IN CALIFORNIA LIVE TO BE OVER 2000 YEARS OF AGE. I RECENTLY VISITED A COMMUNITY IN SOUTHERN VIRGINIA, AND TOOK AN HISTORIC TOUR THROUGH THE OLD PART OF TOWN WHERE SOME BUILDINGS WERE CONSTRUCTED OVER 250 YEARS AGO. SOME OF THE OAK AND MAPLE TREES ON THE GROUNDS WERE OBVIOUSLY PRESENT WHEN THE BUILDINGS WERE CONSTRUCTED, AND PROBABLY OVER 300 YEARS OLD NOW.
THE LIFE SPAN, COMPLEX CONTRIBUTIONS TREES PROVIDE TO SUSTAIN LIFE, THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY IN OUR NATURAL WORLD AND THE POSITIVE EFFECTS FORESTS HAVE ON CLIMATIC CONDITIONS; SUPPORTS THE FACT THAT FOREST SCIENCE IS FAR MORE COMPLEX THAN “GROWING TREES AS CROPS”. THE FUTURE DEMANDS A STRONG FOUNDATION IN ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND THE ABILITY TO “READ THE LAND”. IN OTHER WORDS, OUR PERCEPTION OF FORESTS IS INADEQUATE, AND WITHOUT CHANGE HUMANITY’S FUTURE REMAINS QUESTIONABLE. I AM NOT SUGGESTING CHANGING CURRENT ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE OF TODAY’S FOREST LAND MANAGING AGENCIES, BUT I AM STRONGLY SUGGESTING MAJOR CHANGES IN MANAGEMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR OUR REMAINING PUBLIC FOREST COVERED LANDS. THESE LANDS ARE A LARGE PART OF OUR REMAINING NATURAL WORLD, AND REQUIRE SCIENTIFIC HELP TO PROVIDE FOR THE SUSTENANCE OF LIFE, INCLUDING HUMANS.
