Logging.
It was once what Oregon was all about. Now, it's become
almost a curse word in this land of Douglas firs and Ponderosa
pines.
As I travel the state, I see mill after mill closed.
I see businesses in rural communities shuttered. I see
long-revered public agencies bashed around like a punching
bag. I see recently harvested lands awash in a sea of
vigorous, growing young trees. I also see federal forests
at high risk to fire, insects, disease or water stress
- desperately in need of thinning to restore their health.
While some would have us put our axes and saws away,
worldwide demand for paper, furniture, packaging, and
building materials is unstoppable. While our state economy
slips and stumbles, money and jobs are locked up in the
sweet-scented wood of our forests. It's a bank account
we've blindly turned our backs on.
Dot.coms and high-tech have grabbed the headlines lately,
but forest products still represent about one-fourth of
Oregon's economy. Without logging, there would be no forest
industry. Without a forest industry, Oregon would be a
much different place - more rural unemployment, a less
diverse economy, and private forests leveled for other
uses. And, just as tragic, we couldn't manage the forests
to keep them healthy.
Global demand for wood products has increased 40 percent
since 1960; it's expected to grow another 66 percent by
mid-century. Each year we Americans use one-third of all
the wood that goes into paper, packaging, furniture and
building materials. Yet we produce only one-fourth of
the world's supply.
We let fires rip through our western forests and refuse
loggers entry to thin small trees or harvest charred trees
to restore the land. Blindly, we import wood from countries
paying lower wages and tolerating environmental abuses
long absent from American forests. Right now, the U.S.
imports about one-third of its softwood lumber from Canadian
forests. Some of those forests require five-to-10 times
the acres cut to produce the same amount of wood as one
acre of coastal Douglas fir.
Some Oregonians would have us reduce the amount of wood
we use and turn to other materials, such as steel, concrete,
and plastics. They must not care about water, energy use
and pollution, because producing these non-wood materials
consumes up to 10 times the water and energy – read
carbon dioxide - than a unit of finished wood. And the
minerals and petroleum used to make these products are
non-renewable - unlike trees.
Obviously, you don't get wood without cutting a tree.
And you can't sustain the forests without carefully considering
the tools of modern forestry: genetically superior trees,
reforestation and logging. Logging is just one part of
sustainable forestry, but an essential part.
I am a wildlife biologist by training. I've been in the
natural resources profession for 30 years. I chose this
work because I wanted to improve forest management for
cleaner water, healthier fish and wildlife - what some
call biodiversity. I've visited forests in every state
in the U.S. and in Canada, Sweden, Mexico and India. I
can tell you the world - and Oregon - needs good forest
management and conservation that balances logging with
protecting and restoring diverse and healthy environments.
Oregon's forests are the most productive in the world.
Our coastal woods grow trees 5 to 10 times better than
the average of forests worldwide. Our firs and pines are
of premium quality for wood products. Oregon's logging
techniques result in the cleanest water coming from any
land use in the state.
We also have some of the finest and largest areas of
old forests in the nation, home to many plants and animals
that would exist in far less abundance were those old
forests to disappear – spotted owls, pine martens,
and flying squirrels. But the continual spark of catastrophic
fire seasons loudly tells us there are just too many trees
in many western forests. This over abundance puts many
of our old, natural forests in great danger of bugs and
fires.
Yes, I must use that "curse word" again - but
please don't jump to conclusions. It will take logging
to reduce fire hazards and restore health to these forests.
I'm not suggesting we log the magnificent old trees, or
log every bit of forest, or log just for the biggest yield.
I'm talking about thinning small to medium-sized trees
in the most fire-prone forests to protect the largest
and oldest trees and return fire to its more natural role.
Small, more frequent fires, not incredible explosions.
Just two weeks ago I stood near a giant sugar pine at
the Prospect Ranger Station east of Medford. I listened
as the ranger told me, that in addition to fire risks,
10 percent of these precious trees are dying. The culprit?
Overcrowding from younger trees drinking in all the water.
He's trying to get some thinning underway, but process
and protest are like twin barricades. Nature will not
let us protect these forests through paralyzing process,
neglect or timidity. Selective logging is an essential
tool.
Isn't there a way for thoughtful people who care deeply
about the environment to find common ground with those
trying to meet people's daily needs for food, fiber and
water? Isn't there a place for both?
Logging should not be a curse word in Oregon, of all
places, where the thud of the axe and grind of the saw
literally built the state. The global appetite for wood
and Oregon's lush and productive forests are, like the
sapling to the old growth, related. Our pressing needs
to reduce fire risks and Oregon's talented loggers, foresters,
and mill workers are related. They watch and wait as the
state's economy slides.
Our federal and state agencies have a cohesive plan for
taking care of forests at risk of fire. Let's put it in
action and tackle the hard work of restoring our forests
using low-impact, selective logging and thinning to produce
valuable renewable resources. At the same time, we'll
restore the family-wage jobs that helped build this place
we love. |
Dr. Salwasser is Dean of the College of Forestry,
Director of the Oregon Forest Research Laboratory,
and acting Director of the Institute for Natural Resources
at Oregon State University. He has also served for
22 years with the U.S. Forest Service including positions
as Regional Forester in the Northern Rockies and Research
Director in California.