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Save and create wild forests | Reform public land management
Forest Watch wants to replace industrial forestry with "ecological forestry"--a sustainable forestry that mimics nature, not machines. Industrial practices have no place on our scarce and precious public lands in New England; small-scale, low-impact, ecological forestry should be used if timber is to be logged on public land. Ecological forestry is much more compatible with the benefits that public land should be managed to provide--wild forests, recreation, rare habitats, scenic views, and high water quality. It would also serve as a model for private landowners. There is much to be gained from demonstrating ecological forestry to small, private landowners. These landowners own 80 percent of the forested land in Vermont and they want to be good stewards. Most do not want to use industrial forest practices that will compromise the ecological integrity, beauty, recreation opportunities, and wildlife habitats that their woods provide to them and to others. ACTION PLAN
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© 1999-2002 Forest Watch and artists/contributors • Privacy Policy • Contact Us |
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The availability of modern equipment and technology--chemical pesticides and herbicides, whole tree harvesters and chippers, massive fellers and bunchers, tandem trailers for hauling logs--and the economic pressures caused by discount rates, global markets, and multi-national corporations have produced an industrial approach to forestry. Industrial forest practices mimic the capabilities of machines and technologies, not nature. Moreover, they are aimed at short-term gains instead of long-term sustainability, and they are bad for the environment, the local economy, and the people who live here.
Research and monitor the dynamics of natural, old-growth forests and serve as a clearinghouse for new developments in the field of ecological forestry;