An Editorial Opinion – Right From The Stump, July 18, 2024
Lately, I have been reflecting on the practice of forestry and how some long-held beliefs that influence it have changed over time.
For instance, look at how the industry has historically viewed red alder as a weed species. After a brief stint working as a hardwoods forester two decades ago, I came to appreciate that red alder was a very complicated species to manage for with intention. Without fail, it will grow with ease where you do not want it to, and where you do want it to grow, it challenges all your forestry skills to establish it as a proper crop.
Another example is the perspective that commercial thinning is an uneconomic practice in BC. Last May, I visited recently thinned sites near Prince George which were cash positive (the cover shot is of that thinning). Other treatment objectives for thinning such as for wildfire mitigation are now becoming just as important or more so than financial returns.
As I have learnt more about wildfire resiliency of late, my perspectives on other conventional standards are changing as well.
We all love those vistas of green carpets of interior coniferous forests. However, forest scientists are now saying those vast stretches of forests are not so “natural.” In fact, those homogenous forests should look more like a patchwork of conifers, hardwoods and openings. Such forests historically were much more resilient to wildfire.
Indeed, almost one hundred years of active fire suppression in BC’s forests has led to more conifers. We are also learning that exclusion of fire from our provincial forests has ironically actually made them more vulnerable to fire. Furthermore, because of fire exclusion, some interior old growth forests would not have become such had natural fires run their course. The question then arises, when we speak of “pristine forests”, what does this mean, given we have impeded fire as an ecosystem function?
Now as we are adding old growth deferrals, 30x30 protected areas, Indigenous Protected Conservation Areas and other areas set aside for protecting biodiversity by excluding human activity, are we proliferating yet another belief that needs to be challenged? Many of these areas are just as likely to succumb to wildfire, defeating the purpose of their original protection. The Forest Practices Board said in their June 2023 special report on wildfire that “…unmanaged reserves are especially vulnerable to burning because of the amount of forest fuels that have accumulated over time…. Land managers cannot protect the values that the public want conserved by simply plotting them on a map.”
Given the reality of an increasing wildfire threat, traditional beliefs on conservation need to shift from “preserve and walk away” to one which embraces active forest management in these areas. A new vision could be one where a sustainable forest industry consumes fibre collected from fuel reduction treatments to ensure enduring conservation values across the landscape, no matter the designated land use.
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Written By David Elstone, RPF
Publisher, View From The Stump newsletter
Managing Director, Spar Tree Group Inc.
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