Macphail Woods Articles
Provincial Forest Policy Review - Backgrounder

Provincial Forest Policy Review - Backgrounder by Gary Schneider

For those of you wishing to participate, I have offered some background material below. I tried to make the points short and readable. I've also included information at the bottom of this message on natural selection forestry, if you are interested. If you would like more information on any of this or want to discuss anything related to this, you can call me at 659-2081 or email gary@macphailwoods.org

My main suggestion would be to tell your story and make it personal - why you think forests are important, what has touched you, what are we losing, why you feel we need to change. Our choices are clear - we can focus on clearcuts and softwood plantations, trying to maintain unresilient, simple tree farms; we can let nature take its own course and, on most sites, progress naturally into mixed forests, a process that will take 100-200 years; or we can work with nature, using practices that help speed up natural succession. I'm voting for the latter.

1. Forests are much more than trees: saplings and seedlings; mosses, ferns, lichens and wildflowers; fungi; litter on the floor; soil and all its lifeforms; microclimates created; wildlife populations and the people who use woodlands are all important parts of a forest and need to be considered. We are just beginning to understand how complex forests and all the interactions that help forests remain healthy and productive.

2. Large dead trees are critical components of forests: there are over twenty species of birds on PEI that nest in holes in dead or dying trees - everything from chickadees and nuthatches to kestrels and barred owls. They are also crucial habitat to red-backed salamanders, provide drumming logs for ruffed grouse and house a wide variety of insects. Though it might seem odd, dead trees are important contributors to the biodiversity of our forests. The soil-building role of dead wood is critical to maintaining and improving healthy forest soils.

3. The native Acadian forest is worth both protection and restoration: while it is important to protect the few remnants of older Acadian forests, it is equally important to work on forest restoration. High-value native species such as white pine, yellow birch, sugar maple, red spruce, red oak and white ash could form the basis of not only healthy forests but a future full of value-added forest products.

4. Plantations are not forests: they do not have the diversity of species, ages or structure that are in healthy Acadian forests. As we have already experienced on PEI, they can be very susceptible to insect and disease infestations and often provide very poor wildlife habitat. The province has been spending most of its silviculture budget on forest plantations and little on actually rebuilding diverse forests.

5. Subsidies should go towards providing the greatest good: if someone wants to put in a Norway spruce plantation and use herbicides to kill the native hardwoods in order to potentially make a lot of money (whether or not they can is very much open to debate), that is their decision. It is a business risk and should be treated as such. But the province should not continue to subsidize these risky ventures with public funds that could be used for other purposes. If red pine plantations truly are "biological deserts", as a consultant funded by the forestry division has found, then why would taxpayers fund these?

6. Public forests should be the jewels of the province: that is a message the Round Table on Resource Land Use and Stewardship heard again and again. Instead, what we see are clearcuts and more clearcuts, mainly replaced with conifer plantations. We should be using public lands for the broadest good, including restoring rare plants, creating exceptional wildlife habitat, offering recreational opportunities and carrying out research.

7. We should be encouraging forest biodiversity: simplified ecosystems such as conifer plantations do not have the range of native biodiversity that should be on these sites. Creating diverse forests allows us to have homes for a wide variety of both flora and fauna and hedge our bets against the potential effects of climate change.

8. The public has an important role to play in protecting wildlife habitat: think of where those salamanders go after a clearcut destroys their habitat. Or the migratory birds that return in the spring only to find their nesting sites destroyed. A combination of public education programs, incentives to protect and improve forests and better management of public land would go a long way towards improving habitat for a large number of wildlife species.

9. PEI can only generate sustainable forest wealth by distinguishing itself from larger landbases: we can't compete with larger provinces growing what they grow. This is a tiny province with a limited land base, the vast majority of which is in the hands of private landowners. Fortunately, it has an excellent climate in which to grow trees. High-value woods such as yellow birch and red spruce will always be in demand and return good prices. Having large amounts of plantation wood available in competition with other much larger industrial holdings in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is no guarantee for any economic stability. Being a small land base, we do need to look at ways to increase, not decrease, the number of jobs created per acre of wood cut. Again, the spinoffs from a truckload of pulp harvested by machine going off-Island are minuscule compared to one large red oak that could be used for fine-woodworking and sold here.

10. The forest sector can have a positive effect on tourism: if we are trying to attract tourists to this province, do we want to show them clearcuts and truckloads of wood going off-Island, or do we want to show them that we care about all aspects of our forests? Do we want to ship off low-value pulp and raw logs or create sustainable employment from adding value to already valuable wood, such as making furniture or wood turnings? Eco-tourism is a growing market but we can not hope to be a major player unless we are seen to be looking after our own environment.

11. There are other ways to get wood products without clearcutting forests: especially with an emphasis on forest restoration, there could be dozens of small work crews across the Island not only supplying forest products but helping in the restoration as well. Small patch cuts and thinnings, with plantings of appropriate species where necessary, could play a key role in helping to rebuild Island forests.

12. The province should purchase or create more public forest lands: just 12% of the Island's forests are publicly-owned. Either by purchasing or accepting for donation already wooded lands, or by restoring low-value farmland to forests, the province could significantly increase the amount of public land and create a legacy for future Islanders. This is a direction where many Islanders could actually play an important, hands-on role.

Harvesting rules for Natural Selection Forestry

These rules for natural selection forestry have been developed by Orville Camp, author of The Forest Farmer's Handbook and president of the Forest Farm Association. Mr. Camp is a leading proponent of sustainable logging practices and natural selection forest management in Oregon and across the continent.

• 1. Address forest needs first. In so doing, you will address yours.
• 2. Always leave the stronger dominants. Leaving the strong dominant trees will provide the best genetic traits for new stocking in which to best survive environmental extremes. Leaving the strong dominant trees will help maintain the forest health and avoid paying a high ecological price over the long term.
• 3. Harvest only those trees that nature has selected for removal. There are many indicators for determining which individuals nature has selected for removal. One of the best indicators, for example, is when two or more trees of the same age are competing for the same space and the growth rate of one starts tapering off. The one that starts tapering off with respect to the other is usually the one nature has selected out and can be removed. A major benefit in harvesting only naturally selected individuals is in being able to continue addressing the ecological needs of the forest ecosystem. Economically, the costs of using chemicals, slash burning and reforestation can be reduced to zero.
• 4. Maintain suitable climate, soil and water conditions for all normally associated species. These three essentials determine what can live in a given area. Canopy dominants control all three of these conditions below and should not be removed if they will substantially alter the climate below.
• 5. Maintain habitat suitable for providing food, shelter and reproduction needs for all normally associated species. All these needs must continue to be met for each species to survive.
• 6. Maintain the natural selection system of "checks and balances" for keeping the forest ecosystem healthy and productive. There must be adequate populations of all normally associated species for maintaining the best system of checks and balances.
• 7. Remove no more than what the forest is truly capable of produc- ing at any given time. Overharvesting can substantially reduce production and seriously affect forest health or result in its death.
• 8. "Do I feel certain about my decision?" The rule is: "When in doubt, don't!" Get expert advice or evaluate the situation until you are satisfied with what you propose to do. You may never be able to replace what you are removing nor undo the damage caused by what you have removed. If you still can't decide, it's usually best not to do anything.