Editor:
So many reasons to think about doing forestry in a new way. Clearcutting, poisoning broad leaf trees and replanting conifers is not sustainable. The organisms that maintain soil health are dying. Nature shows the way with burning, creating clearings with berries and young greens and then (on the Coast) alders and maples. Then, when the alders die, the conifer trees can take their place. This is how the soil can be rejuvenated between cycles. The nitrogen fixing bacteria that live with the alder roots bring nitrogen to the soil. When the alders and maples die, they feed the mushroom roots that recycle the wood into the soil so it can hold water and air for the coniferous trees and insects, birds and other animals can thrive.
Our colonial government gave the forest to private companies whose only thought is how much money they can make. Instead of appreciating the forests and caring for them, they have greedily clearcut and used poisons to create a mono-crop of conifers. We need a universal guaranteed income so everyone who is currently living off the cutting of trees can feel secure. We need to learn to use hemp and bamboo and recycled plastics for building materials. We need to stop selling our forests for wood chips to burn in England.
We can learn to look after our forests sustainably and appreciate clearings and broad leaf trees, which let light in during the winter and give cool shade in the summer. We can control burn so nobody loses their house.
Joan Payne
Sechelt
