Don Baccus posted: "I can't think of any reason to wish for a contiguous
old-growth forest west of the Cascades. In the early days, clearcutting
must've increased overall diversity in much of our area. It isn't
clearcutting that threatens the loss of some of our native species, it is
the scale of clearcutting, i.e. the planned conversion of virtually all
westside old-growth to uniform monoculture
rotations. There's nothing wrong with clearcutting per se when proper
streamside
buffers are provided, steep grades left alone, etc etc. What's wrong is
clearcutting the whole damned forest."

The contiguous old-growth forest west of the Cascades is gone for good in
any case. I don't think there's any question that environmentally based
clearcutting on a long-term sustained-yield basis has and can increase
habitat diversity and attendent faunal diversity. (We're managing all of
our forests; the question is, what are we managing them for?) Assuming that
future logging practices were environmentally sensitive, (streamside
buffers, snags left standing, non-eroding roads, selective cutting,
controlled burning, helicopter logging, migration corridors intact, etc.,
etc.) we are still dealing with a combination of the old "cut out and get
out" mentality and tree growing as an agribusiness. Thus sustained-yield
now means growing pure even-aged stands of doug fir, no older than 30 yrs.,
over vast areas. Even if the cutting blocks were small there will be no
snags, no migratory corridors and no diversity. It isn't apparent to me
that "new forestry" can prevent the conversion of the National Forests to
tree farming of this type. Under the *very best* of circumstances I think
we have to resign ourselves to having only Wilderness Areas and National
Parks as refugia for many species and the last remnants of a diverse
habitat. The remainder of the "wet side" will be wall to wall people and
tree farms. The notion of a "steady supply" of old-growth timber that
might be provided by logging Wilderness and Parks is self-delusional (or
just public relations) considering how long it took to harvest 90% of the
original old-growth in the Northwest.

I see the battle now to assure that a) tree and people farming is done
responsibly so that watersheds and groundwater supplies are protected for
human health, flood prevention and fish production, and b) the existing
wilderness and parks are preserved, and managed so that they are not used
or loved to death.

Herb Curl


h.curl at hazmat.noaa.gov "You may be only young once but you can be
Hazmat/NOAA, 7600 Sand Pt. Wy., NE immature the rest of your life."
Seattle, WA 98115-0070
(206) 526-6272