Forest Thinning Is Essential For Healthy Forests
I’m writing on the agree side of this debate for a couple of different reasons.
Let me say for the record, this has absolutely nothing to do with allowing the timber industry to cut down more of our precious trees. I’m a Conservationist at heart and I spend a great deal of my time in the woods! Whether Fishing, Hunting, or Camping which are my favorite pastimes, I probably spend more time in the woods than I do at home, and I’m absolutely certain my wife would attest to that fact, if reluctantly so.
First and foremost, now that civilization is moving deeper and deeper into our forest all across our country, we have to consider they’re safety. Always before, most people lived in relatively urban areas which had a natural buffer between themselves and our forest lands. Due to roads and construction, and local industry. Known better as, Urban Sprawl. This however no longer exist due to the fact that more and more people are trying to get back to nature, so to speak.
Secondly, nature has always had it’s own way of keeping the natural balance of undergrowth from getting out of hand. Forest Fires! It used to be these would happen from lightning or some other natural occurence. Many people may not understand that these are essential to keep our forest healthy. The fires would burn the dead and overgrown brush, which would other-wise choke out the healthy trees, shrubs and grasses which are needed to keep our forest healthy, vibrant, and alive!
I am a huge outdoorsman like most of my friends, and I assure you we are pro-forest! Not pro-timber industry! I absolutely do not agree with allowing the timber companies to randomly go into ANY woodlands and start hacking down trees wholesale for the lumber mills!
When I was a young man, I worked for the Forestry Service in the southern part of this country. It was a common procedure to go into extremely overgrown areas of the forest, and do what we called Controlled Burns. These burns were actually controlled forest fires. The reasoning behind these controlled burns was to burn out the dead and overgrown underbrush. This would allow the normal, healthy forest to continue to thrive in it’s natural state which was much more benefical for the indigenous plants and trees, as well as the local wildlife.
I am pro-woodsman all the way, but I have to agree with the thinning of our forest in certain areas of this country. In the western part of our nation, they have been experiencing a lack of rain-fall thats been pretty extreme. In other words, a severe drought. So forest fires are inevitable, and with undergrowth that has grown that thick, it is absolutely a danger to human life! Therefore the thinning of the forest in these areas is a necessity. Albeit not one we particularly care for, but it has to be done!
In conclusion of this article. The thinning of the natural forest for profit should not be permitted, but thinning of the forest for the safety of our citizens is or should be a “No-Brainer”. We now have more people than ever moving into our forest than at any other time in modern history, and even though there are a lot of people who feel like I do about the harvesting of our precious woodlands. Their safety has to take precedence here!
