Environmentalists fail to prove their case

[hikerduane]

Red Emerson (Sierra Pacific Industries) largest private property owner in CA I think. Seems I heard that along the way. Collins Pine Co., Lousiana Pacific, I think they still own property around here, Pacific Fruit Growers?. I'm not privy to their policies, seems living up where I do, word would get around if they apply herbicides.

[dave54]

There is still quite a bit of industrial forestland in CA. Duane mentioned several. Collins Pine is an FSC certified forest.

Several companies have pulled out. Roseburg Forest Products are selling their California holdings and concentrating elsewhere. Soper-Wheeler is pulling out of the U.S. completely and buying forestland in the southern hemisphere, particularly Australia and New Zealand where the government actively supports professional scientific management of forests, and their forests and their economy is healthier for it.

Those two companies had a pretty good track record for stewardship. California's Forest Practices Act is so strict smaller landowners lose money trying to be good stewards. SPI survives by the economy of scale, as it now takes 20,000 acre/100 MMBF timber sales to recoup the planning and management costs forced by the law. One recent study found that in California, a simple 100 acre timber harvest costs over $20,000 just to file the initial application for a harvest plan. Additional state-mandated costs follow with the planning and layout -- all before you cut the first stick. So when the smaller landowners are forced by economics to sell their forestland, SPI is ready with cash-in-hand to acquire it.



The Feds don't use herbicides anymore. The hassle and costs prohibit it.
Too bad. The forests would be better if they did. (BTW-- on a per-acre basis the average homeowner uses more herbicide on his home lawn than foresters would use in the forest.)

[ERIC]

Great info, Dave. Thanks!

(BTW-- on a per-acre basis the average homeowner uses more herbicide on his home lawn than foresters would use in the forest.)

Great point. This is something that many people don't realize. When it comes to urban home chemical useage, control products such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc. are less regulated and are used on average in greater volume in a given area when compared to the average application volumes in commercial agriculture and forestry settings in the United States.

[cmon4day]

The Feds may not use it but the Timber Companies do!!!

For more info, see these links:

http://www.abcbirds.org/pesticides/herb ... _birds.htm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic ... eatens.cfm
http://www.forestwatchers.org/news/calentrally.htm

Don't be naive. Herbicides are defintely used.


Vic

[dave54]

The Feds may not use it but the Timber Companies do!!!

Don't be naive. Herbicides are defintely used.

Vic

Which is one of the reasons private industrial forestlands in California are healthier, more biodiverse, and more resilient to catastrophic disturbance than their Federal neighbors.

[cmon4day]

Dave54,

Where do you get your information? Private forest land with a mono crop of one species is more vunerable to castastrophic disease and infestation than selective forests. Once one tree gets it the rest all follow because there is no diversity in the forest to slow the progression.

I take you do not like to fish. Because what do you think the herbicides are doing once it enters the water.

Vic