do you what % of our current lumber consumption comes from USFS lands?
No I don't. I do know that USFS lands, ie American taxpayer lands, are capable of producing a lot more timber than they do. But it takes management, and it takes replacing diseased and decadent timber with fast growing timber.
The Native Corporations have no such limitations on what they do, so they are able to harvest as much or as little as they want. But the Forest Service gets the blame for it, never the less. People think Native conservation ethics follow the principles they saw in "Dances With Wolves," which is a crock in my opinion.
My position is a lot more conservationist than my diatribe might suggest. It requires careful consideration of all the values. Control of harvest levels, methods, and activities should be limited by what is sustainable forever, maintains all the other resource values at healthy levels, and is morally, esthetically, and ethically just.
I would much rather that humans not require ANY wood harvest. That is not a reasonable concept, however. Since I know that humans will get their wood someplace, I prefer it be where environmental laws are in place and operable.
People who think they are staunch environmentalists, and justify demonizing good conservative management on National Forest land are forcing their wood harvest overseas, where God only knows what environmental laws are in place.
But then, they got their conservation principles from Dances With Wolves. |
