The forest industry is a unique industry in that it has a unique property.. very few people spend much time in the bush to understand logging practices. How many of you look at a logged area (cutblock) and take notice of it? Do you ever wonder what goes on to get to the point that a forested area is logged? Do you know that clearcut logging (logging every tree like the picture) is only one of the ways that forests can be logged. There are many other ways to log forests that don't create devestating affects to the land base. I bet some of you do wonder..
There are probably less than 0.1% of the population that ever venture out into the forests to see logging practices. And only about 0.1% of that 0.1% would actually be able to understand what an area looked like before it was logged, in order to speculate on if it was logged using the most environmentally minded and sustainably minded management practices.
Being employed by the forest industry for over a decade and a half, I have become weary of the way forests are managed around North America and the world. We do an okay job of trying to manage the forest resources, but there has always seemed to be more emphasis on "jumping through the hoops" that regulation stipulates, rather than to really walk the bush and feel it as the animal that uses it as its home.
The past few years there has been a big emphasis on "reconciliation" with First Nations peoples and their beliefs. I have always been impressed by the First Nations people when it comes to their connection to nature and the forest. I have walked with many First Nations people into a forest, that is planned for logging, and they always see so many unique things about the forest that so many people wouldn't realize is important. Unfortunately, the forest industry I work for sees too many dollar signs and just "jumps through the hoops" of regulation to meet the First Nations desires and goals.. and this is very vague at best (when it comes to regulation).
Other groups have their opinions about the forest we log, but I don't think they have enough say in the end. Let's face it, we need to log trees to produce toilet paper, newspapers, houses, and millions of other things!
It makes me sick when I see all the wasted paper products (flyers/newspapers) that go into the garbage every day. I read a statistic that said that only 10-15% of the paper products that gets produced, end up being recycled. And, the process of recycling uses a lot of chemicals that are bad for the environment. We should be trying a lot harder to reduce the amount of wasted paper and wood products. This will help to reduce the number of forests that are being logged for these products.
So, what is more important to you.. that useless flyer that you get every week, or the animals and plants that are found in our beautiful forests? Don't you want to keep as many of our forests from logging as you can, and allow their natural processes to be maintained within them?
The forest industry is a topic that I will be talking a lot about in future posts. I will be submitting videos, pictures, documents, and expert feedback on these topics. I have first hand experience working in all phases of forestry planning and development all the way to the trees being cut from the forest. I will be posting on topics throughout each of these phases and shed a light on the current situation and my thoughts on ways that these processes could be improved.
It would be so nice if you could upvote me if you would like to see more on these forestry related topics, and help me in my effort to create awareness and change for the better of our forests.
Thank you so much for reading my first post!