JD45 Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 Just recently, I got quite a surprise reading how bad things are getting for our forests. The current trend seems to be an effort to get as much land as possible classified as "regeneration forest" so they can do whatever the hell they chose with the land for years to come. Regeneration forestry, in some of the most recent examples, is really one big ugly clear-cut. Read the current(maybe last month) issue of Backpacker.There is an old growth forest in Oregon full of 500 year-old trees that should be gone by now(funded by taxpayers). This has been happening for a while and it is getting worse by the minute. The US Forest service's main job is building roads. Did you know that it has more miles of roads than any other governing body in the world? Eight times the mileage of all U.S. interstates combined. There are thousands more on the way. Go to www.wilderness.org to learn what is currently taking place. When I was a teenager, saving trees never crossed my mind. I hunted quail, squirrel, rabbits, deer, ducks, and doves, any never worried about the land. Farmers farmed and the hardwoods kept growing. People would go out and cut 10-15" oaks for firewood. There were enough trees and so few people we never missed the lost tree. Today, everybody cuts all of the hardwoods they can and replants in pines, or trailers, or Wal-marts. I've been sick about it for fifteen years. We lost 270 more acres boardering our hunting property last year. If that is not enough, the gov't is trying to build a new interstate, I-3, from Savannah to Knoxville, right through the wild Georgia mountains, for about 50 billion. They say it will help them dump nuclear waste on us really fast. They also say it will be hard to halt the project. Greed is one thing. But greed combined with ecological ignorance is down right dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 I hate in Oregon we just waste our trees by letting them burn, because we can't smart harvest them because of all of the "forest protection" laws We have lots of trees, and now, ands lots of people on welfare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iweiny Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 While I totaly agree that clear cutting, selling, or development of national lands is wrong. Most of the national forest "roads" of which you speak of are endagered as well. Roads and trails provide acces for many people to enjoy the outdoors through camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, and yes even OHV. I mean we can not even call it "off-roading" anymore because that is so non-PC. We have to call it "off-highway" Even though 99% of the people out there do stay on designated trails. And the other 1% needs to be punished for not being responsible. Be carefull in which organizations you support as you might find, like the sierra club, they will kick you out because your activity, say driving a 4x4, is not PC enough. Sorry, I should start my own hate thread I guess... Ira Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD45 Posted December 2, 2005 Author Share Posted December 2, 2005 As I see it, the problem is greed and big business. Not a guy or ten guys in four-wheel drives. If the road is already there you should be allowed to drive on it with very few exceptions. Since we raped a great deal of our forests by 1930, controlled burning is definitely needed for most of those areas. But when somebody says,"Oh sure, we'll replant trees, control burn, and maintain roads on the property. As long as you let us clear-cut that old growth timber including the 500+ year old trees", we should stop the deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Agreed! Someone was smart enough to let people harvest some trees killed in a fire locally recently, but because of the ignorant/spineless/greedy politicians in this state/DC we don't even have local mills to process them anymore Logging technolology has change so much that we don't even have to clear cut any more, but logging seems to be a 4 letter word anymore I've seen many many jobs and homes lost due to STUPID legislation from DC and Salem (our capital) that I'm a bit sensetive to the whole logging thing. The best forests around here are the ones that have been enhance by selective logging, most of the rest are rotting, burnt, or overgrown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cking Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 Trees do get old and die. What we need is a program that thins and replants on regular basis. Norway manages it hardwood forest pretty well why can't we seem to even copy good examples. It is so hard for us to get over the greed factory. Seems corps relieve anybody of responsibility for there actions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iweiny Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 As I see it, the problem is greed and big business. Not a guy or ten guys in four-wheel drives. If the road is already there you should be allowed to drive on it with very few exceptions.Since we raped a great deal of our forests by 1930, controlled burning is definitely needed for most of those areas. But when somebody says,"Oh sure, we'll replant trees, control burn, and maintain roads on the property. As long as you let us clear-cut that old growth timber including the 500+ year old trees", we should stop the deal. Absolutely, agreed. Ira Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now