When it Comes to Jobs and Conservation in New Brunswick’s Forests, We Can Have Our Cake and Eat it Too
By Andrew Clark Logging Contractor President of the New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot Owners The time has come for a fresh approach to the management of our forest resources. In the past the concern was timber first, second and last. The future will require that biodiversity be a high consideration. Opportunities for economic activity may be in recreation, whether that is eco-tourism, hunting, fishing, hiking, camping or something else the future may define. The driving force in decision making has been to create a forest to feed fibre to the existing mills. The reality is that by the time the stands that are being thinned today are ready to be harvested, the mills they were to feed will be worn out and in need of replacement or re-building. The markets may also have been changed by pressure from environmental considerations, technology, or changing consumer tastes. The only sure thing as we look into the future is change. The only prudent policy, with this in mind, is to keep our options as open as possible. The question that we have been unwilling to ask, let alone answer is how do we do that and still make a living. We have reached a point where the land base managed as it is today can no longer provide enough timber to meet all demands. The promotion of value-added by the government will provide some additional jobs but will not help with management of the resource. What is needed now is a basic change in management philosophy. We have been trying to make the forest fit the mills. What we need to do now is manage the forest for health and vigour of naturally occurring species and design an industrial strategy to make best use of and maximize employment from the products of this natural forest. In order to ensure that we are in a position to best use the raw material from a forest that is managed to be "natural", we need to look at what these products would be. There would still be large quantities of spruce, fir and pine, hopefully of a higher quality in terms of average diameter and percentage of rot, than is now the case. There would also be the major hardwoods: more high quality sugar maple, yellow birch, red maple, white birch, ash, beech, poplars and some oak and black cherry. We would also have increasing amounts of cedar and hemlock; while they are used today, not enough has been done to develop products that take advantage of their special natural qualities, especially rot resistance (the same can be said of larch/tamarack). The industrial sector has been changing in response to availability of raw material and market forces whether economic or environmental. One important trend is the transition of pulp mills from users of round wood to users of residue from saw milling. They are also using recycled fibre. The point is that if change is predictable, industry can and will adapt with a minimum of disturbance. The predictable change in operating procedure would be in harvesting methods and timing. It would be necessary to harvest more of the land, taking much less wood that is now the norm in clearcut or two pass operations (two pass being an initial cut removing 50% or more of volume with a follow up cut in 4-6 years removing the rest as soon as regeneration is established.) We can use "extensive" to describe using more of the land base more often with low impact and "intensive" to describe clearcut or two pass harvesting. It should also be permissible to practice plantation forestry on a limited amount of the land base as this would allow a bridge between the present industry and the industry of the future. The natural stands that would result from a change in operating methods would be a large step toward meeting one of the goals that society is just now defining, that all that is reasonably possible must be done to ensure that no species is lost due to human activity. Concern for protection of biodiversity, wildlife habitat, or species at risk reflects a growing recognition that all species are important in their own right and have a role to play, although perhaps not presently understood, in the life cycle that sustains us all.  If more of the landscape was being operated in a careful extensive manner, then the need to create large areas where no activity is allowed would be greatly reduced. The main need then would be to identify special sites that would either not be touched or would be operated as special management areas where the primary goal is to benefit the species that live there and not timber production or some other purpose. It should be noted that even then some control areas or "no go" zones would still be needed for scientific studies and ecological reserves. Why? Because in spite of our best efforts we can’t be sure we have done no harm. The vision is this: We would have a landscape with a significant proportion of stable uneven age stands with at least three age classes capable of providing the best guarantee that all species will survive. We would have more timber for industry, not less. We would have better quality water, and better fishing due to less erosion. Due to the extensive nature of harvesting operations we would have a comprehensive road system that would be reasonably well maintained. We would have an aesthetically pleasing landscape for tourists. We would have better carbon absorption, more oxygen and more employment. In order to offset the increased cost, at least in the short term, of producing timber in this way I would suggest that much more could be done to earn income from non timber uses of the forest. It should be possible to develop theme vacation businesses on this improved landscape. One possibility could be to encourage the use of the extensive road system for recreational vehicles. Maps would be provided, camping sites or lodging available, without leaving the forest. The improved game carrying capacity and fishing as mentioned earlier should support a substantial outfitting and guiding business. A system of trails that allow for viewing of special geological sites or biological interest areas with maps and camp sites would attract another group of tourists. We have everything that is needed for all season tourist developments.  Winter: snowmobiling, snow shoeing, cross-country skiing in a wilderness setting. Spring: maple sugar and white water rafting. Summer: hiking, biking, fishing, four-wheeling.  Fall: all the summer activities plus hunting, and some of the best fall colours in the world  (enhanced by natural forest management). We could promote hands-on forest experiences in logging. We are limited only by our imagination and our ability to promote what we have. If we can compare all this to what is done in other areas there is no good reason why with the right planning and promotion we can’t develop the kind of multi-million dollar tourist facilities other areas have, especially for our larger land holders. To sum up: if we can collectively decide to become better and more visionary managers of our resources, we can provide more stable and satisfying employment in a sustainable industry based upon a multiple-use forest. We can have our cake and eat it too.   Profile of Andrew Clark