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Mt. Trumbull, AZ. NAU
School of Forestry’s forest “fireproofing” is old-growth
logging masquerading as fireproofing.
The 36-inch yardstick barely covers the diameter of
this forest giant. Ironically, these thick-barked old-growth
trees are the least likely to burn.
In the aftermath
of the Rodeo-Chedeski fire one reads that environmentalists
were to be blamed because they opposed forest thinning.
In fact, environmentalists here have never opposed
thinning projects but they have opposed so-called
“thinning” projects which were old-growth logging
disguised as thinning.
Now
President Bush and the logging industry wish to circumvent our
nation’s environmental laws and fast track Bush’s
so-called “Forest Health Initiative.” Besides going after
old-growth, they would short-circuit environmental law in
order to log
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If
the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part
is good, whether we understand it or not. --Aldo Leopold |
off standing,
burned trees such as at the Rodeo-Chedeski site.
Arizona’s Senator Kyl has stated: “…burned trees
that are left standing present a serious threat to the overall
health of the forest.”
Equally curious, Apache/Sitgraves Forest Supervisor,
John Bedell, recently claimed that standing, burned trees
represented a dangerous “fuel loading” fire threat.
In fact, salvage
logging and removal of burned trees frustrates the vigorous
re-emergence of the next generation of a forest’s trees,
plants, streams, fish and wildlife, namely:
--Logging machinery and access
roads used to remove the burned trees cause hillside soil
erosion, stream siltation, and flooding and destruction of the
fish and riparian ecosystems. When burned trees fall they
create jackstraw or herringbone-like patterns which become
small check dams holding soil in place.
This reduces the loss of precious topsoil and
downstream flooding.
--Logging burned trees removes
the “fertilizer” needed for the next generation of forest
plants and trees. After falling to the ground and decomposing,
the burned trees provide vital minerals, nutrients and
topsoil.
--Fallen trees or snags become
invaluable cover and habitat for birds and wildlife.
Trunks which break off create cavities for bats, owls,
mammals and other wildlife. Standing dead trees become nesting
sites and perches for songbirds and raptors.
Their trunks become food sources for woodpeckers, nest
cavities for birds, and food for fungi and insects after they
fall to earth and decompose.
On the forest floor they provide microclimates and
shade for a generation of sun intolerant plants, trees, and
animals.
--Since fires burn in mosaic
patterns with many surviving islands of unburned areas, these
burned/unburned interfaces become Meccas of biotic diversity.
Trees with only a few unburned needles may recover but
salvage loggers destroy them. Yet they are vital in rebuilding
and reseeding the next forest generation.
Behind the Administration’s
and Congress’ rush to “fireproof” our forests is the
hidden motive of old-growth logging. Senator Kyl would
introduce “thinning” legislation using the so-called
“pre-settlement restoration” method of old-growth logging
of NAU School of Forestry professor Wallace Covington.
“Scalping” is the only
word to describe the results of “pre-settlement
“thinned” forests (see photo).
They don’t look like forests but instead like some
kind of strange, open park with a few skinny, lonely trees.
Photographs of Covington’s
“thinning” operation taken by conservationists visiting
his Mt. Trumbull site reveal 36” diameter stumps and a
logging deck stacked with 16 to 30 inch diameter forest giants
awaiting the trip to the mill. Large, unsightly, open spaces
and a few scattered trees are all that remain at the site.
A new bill just introduced
into Congress by Senators Kyl and Domenici proposes to finance
these NAU Forestry School thinning research to the extent of
$5-6 million per year. Already
this forestry professor’s studies have received some $11
million thanks to Senator Kyl’s generosity.
A Great Horned Owl had moved
in to the Covington deforestation site at Mt. Trumbull. Great
Horned Owls (and cowbirds) prefer disturbed, logged, open
areas, where they drive out Spotted and Flammulated Owls and
canopy-preferring birds and mammals.
Ft. Valley, Arizona.
This NAU School of Forestry “pre-settlement
restoration” forest “thinning” project resulted in a
sparse, scalped “forest.” This site no longer contains
suitable tree density or canopy closure for many forest
canopy-dependent species (e.g. Northern Goshawk, Mexican
Spotted Owl, Abert’s squirrel). Photo: SW Forest Alliance
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