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Jeannie kendrick 02:52, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Forest Farming - The Ecosystem Approach to Forest Management

[edit] Forest Farm Management Principles

Forest Farm Management Principles constitute an ecological approach to forest management through efforts to find a balance between conservation and judicious utilization of the forest resources.

The forests of the Northwest have been primarily utilized for the purpose of the production of wood fiber, which has left thousands of acres of cut-over forestland comprised of second and third generation growth of tangled masses of trees. Much of this timber land grew back as scrub oak woodland. While most forest professionals and land owners today think of these lands only as less productive, "secondary" forests of single species, even-age timber stands which are to be left to regenerate until time to cut them again, forest farmers believe that the best method of managing these cut over lands is to try to enable them to recover as complete forest ecosystems, emulating the natural forest processes to enable their return to health.

Forest farmers believe that these forests have been overused and are so fragmented that their natural processes are out of equilibrium and must be carefully manipulated over time, emulating natural processes, in order to bring them back into ecological balance. They believe that there is a continually changing interconnectedness between the various organisms and processes within a forest ecosystem and their work attempts to understand these interconnections in order to speed up natural process changes.

Forest farmers believe that these secondary growth forest tree stands need to be cautiously thinned, but no species is ever to be completely decimated; that there should never be so much thinning that the crown cover is depleted leaving the forest floor exposed to excessive sun, rain and erosion; that multiple entries should be made to accomplish thinnings so that the systemic shock is not so great; that there should be a cross-section of trees of all ages and species, rather than a monoculture of timber species. Forest farmers manage such that trees are not thinned solely for the removal of the largest healthiest individuals- wherever a healthy large tree can be left, it is left to grow larger and stronger to provide excellent reproductive seed stock. The weaker, sick or damaged trees are removed from overstocked areas to give the healthy trees more space, nutrients and sunlight so that they may thrive.

Forest Farm philosophy is that the term "sustainable" means what is sustainable for the earth, not what is sustainable for man's demand and their objective is to restore and maintain the health of the forest land's many and varied ecosystems. That does not mean that they do not believe in cutting trees as a resource, it means that they believe that they must be cognizant of their effect on the environment and careful in their management of the forests and that their efforts to find a balance between conservation and judicious utilization of the forest's abundant resources, are vital to the future of our planet earth and the survival of humans as a species.

Sources: 1984, Orville Camp, "Natural Selection Forestry, A Guide to Natural Selection Forestry", which galvanized landowners to resist standard forest practices and allow nature to tell them how to manage forests.

"The Forest Management Controversy" from the Forest Farm Journal, Forest Farm Association publication, 1985-1992.

2005, j.a.Kendrick, "Alex's Forest Farm" (Copyright TX 6-269-353)The story of a modern forest farm.

Internet references: [1] "In Context" magazine, article by Robert Brothers on forest farmers objectives and goals. [2] Kendrick Forest Farm website. [3] Cornell University "Forest Farming" defined. [4] National Woodland owners "green tag" forestry management program. [5]Morning Hill Forest Farm website

Wikipedia Reference Links: forestry, forest management, tree farm , stewardship, sustainable forestry, conservation movement, green movement, environmental movement, ecology, biodiversity, natural environment.