Sustainable Forestry
1) How The Pattern Works
Standing forests are tremendously valuable for fish and wildlife, clean water and air, recreational uses, a stable climate, and a wide range of other ecosystem services. When logged conventionally, with large clear-cuts and insufficient attention to the health of the ecosystem, these other benefits are unnecessarily sacrificed.
Forests are enormously complex and richly interconnected ecosystems. Mycorrhizal fungi colonize tree roots and draw sugars from the tree while providing it with more nutrients and water than it could obtain on its own. Rodents eat the fruiting bodies of these vital fungi and disperse their spores through the forest. Salmon migrating upstream to spawn deliver a substantial amount of ocean-derived nutrients to fertilize the streams and woods.
Sustainable Forestry capitalizes on these connections. It is based on the entire forest ecosystem, from soil to canopy, from watercourse to wildlife. It seeks to enhance and restore the natural processes at work in the woods, to take trees while keeping the forest and streams intact, and to consider the landscape-scale implications of the harvests it proposes. It focuses on what is left, rather than what is harvested, ensuring that trees of all ages and species remain, and that the ecosystem remains fully functional. Sustainable Forestry practices are rigorously certified by neutral parties under the auspices of organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council and Scientific Certification Systems, providing favorable product differentiation in the marketplace.
Sustainable Forestry also considers the social and economic benefits of forestry in a new light. The riches of the forest can offer livelihood over the long-term to people in nearby communities. But for the better part of those benefits to be captured, the raw logs must be processed in the area. It is better to ship out lumber than logs, and better doors, windows, and furniture than raw lumber.
Since the yield from the forest is limited, Resource Efficiency strategies can provide more jobs per acre. Non-timber forest products, including mushrooms, medicinal plants, and decorative florals like salal form an additional income stream from forests. In addition, markets in Ecosystem Services provided by forests, including climate stabilization and water purification, are beginning to mature. For instance, the Pacific Forest Trust is beginning to compensate forest owners for sustainable forestry practices that keep additional carbon stored. Many municipalities protect forested watersheds in order to maintain the integrity of their water supplies.
Practice a system of forestry that takes trees while leaving the forest intact and seek certification to document these practices in the marketplace. Ensure that benefits from forestry flow back to local communities through diverse networks of value-added production.
2) Stories: Examples of this Pattern in Everyday Life
Collins Pine Company
The Collins Pine Company began in 1855 in Pennsylvania. From there the company expanded westward. Grounded in their Methodist faith, the Collins family took very seriously how their company affected the surrounding community. The family was troubled by the effects of a boom-bust cycle logging communities experienced. Truman W. Collins began in the late 1930s to change the company’s forest operations towards sustainability. This would ensure jobs, forest health, and profits for the company.
The operation used selected cutting within the Collins forests. This insured peak growth and an uneven age of trees like that found in untouched forests. The company developed a monitoring system to make sure no wood fiber was taken that was not naturally replaced. This practice allowed year-round jobs, forest sustainability and extended profits.
The family remains active in the community, very supportive of the United Methodist Church and in 1947 created the Collins Foundation. This independent private foundation is dedicated to improving, enriching and giving greater expression to the religious, educational, cultural and scientific endeavors of the State of Oregon, and improving the quality of life in the state.
In 1993, the Collins Pine Company took another innovative step supporting their beliefs: they certified their forests as sustainable to the ecosystem as well as the surrounding community. A third party from the Forest Stewardship Council used biologists, a forest economist, a professional forester and a forest health specialist to recognize the very impressive practices. The FSC examined not only the forest itself but also how the Collins Pine Company supported the local economy. The evaluators said they were “impressed” with the company.
With this, the company continues to grow. In 1996, Collins Pine Company expanded its forest operations to include the manufacturing of plywood, particleboard, and hardboard siding. They now offer certified wood throughout the country.
A Collins Pine Company forest does not resemble conventional logging forests. There is more woody debris left on the forest floor to allow for nutrients to enter back into the soil and snags abound in the forest to allow habitat for birds and insects. The forests support a diverse array of wildlife including bald eagles, black bears, beavers and wild turkey. Furthermore, Collins Pine Company does not use pesticides or fertilizers. They are successful living out their religious ideals.