Scrmblr
Used to amuse us when people from the Midwest would come out and complain about the clear cutting. I used to ask them if they went through their fields and only cut every stalk of wheat that was ripe when the rest of it was a 90% ripe, or if they harvested the entire field. Naturally they'd say that they harvested the entire field. when asked what the difference was, they very seldom could reply.
What most people don't understand about Timber harvesting is that Timber is a crop, just like wheat with a 50 - 70 year harvest cycle. If you've ever been in a old growth forest, you'll find that there are not many animals living in it because the old growth blocks the sun from the ground and there isn't anything for the animals to eat. Most wild life lives in either primary (replanted) or secondary growth. For every tree harvested, 3 are planted and later when thinning occurs, in order too give the best tree the opportunity to grow, normally one or more are removed before they get too big. Otherwise they are all stunted. This is called maximizing crop potential, just like any other farm.
Another thing most people don't realize is that leaving the scrub, branches, etc on the ground and in piles, provides cover for wildlife which becomes a necessary part of the equation and subsequent considerations.
One thing that really PO's people from Washington and Oregon is that the federally built dams on the Columbia River sell their power to California and California electrical power is cheaper to the individuals than the locals pay for electricity. These same dams are also a main reason that the Salmon harvest has dropped significantly in the last 100 +/- years. Some dams have fish ladders, some don't, and the Federal Nuclear Waste Facility at Hanford creates Thermal or temperature blocks in the river that fish cannot pass, from the use of river water to cool their by-products. All of this contributes to the fish not being able to get back to their spawning beds.
This entire subject was the basis for a thesis I did for one class at the UW.
So much for my class of the day, got to get back to hassling djones!
Packrat
Used to amuse us when people from the Midwest would come out and complain about the clear cutting. I used to ask them if they went through their fields and only cut every stalk of wheat that was ripe when the rest of it was a 90% ripe, or if they harvested the entire field. Naturally they'd say that they harvested the entire field. when asked what the difference was, they very seldom could reply.
What most people don't understand about Timber harvesting is that Timber is a crop, just like wheat with a 50 - 70 year harvest cycle. If you've ever been in a old growth forest, you'll find that there are not many animals living in it because the old growth blocks the sun from the ground and there isn't anything for the animals to eat. Most wild life lives in either primary (replanted) or secondary growth. For every tree harvested, 3 are planted and later when thinning occurs, in order too give the best tree the opportunity to grow, normally one or more are removed before they get too big. Otherwise they are all stunted. This is called maximizing crop potential, just like any other farm.
Another thing most people don't realize is that leaving the scrub, branches, etc on the ground and in piles, provides cover for wildlife which becomes a necessary part of the equation and subsequent considerations.
One thing that really PO's people from Washington and Oregon is that the federally built dams on the Columbia River sell their power to California and California electrical power is cheaper to the individuals than the locals pay for electricity. These same dams are also a main reason that the Salmon harvest has dropped significantly in the last 100 +/- years. Some dams have fish ladders, some don't, and the Federal Nuclear Waste Facility at Hanford creates Thermal or temperature blocks in the river that fish cannot pass, from the use of river water to cool their by-products. All of this contributes to the fish not being able to get back to their spawning beds.
This entire subject was the basis for a thesis I did for one class at the UW.
So much for my class of the day, got to get back to hassling djones!
Packrat
