Day 058 - 30 Nov 94 - Page 58
1 years ago. Mr. Morris, I made a note or two here about
2 clear cuts which it may be helpful to say about them,
3 because I know that people are concerned that clear cutting
4 whatever the size goes on. There are some quite good
5 reasons for doing it. In the case of the existing forest
6 areas, by that I mean those which are in a successional
7 state, some trees over 100 years, some younger, mixed age
8 and therefore not old growth, but certainly older forest
9 areas, it is a good deal safer for those who are involved
10 in the process of felling to clear an area rather than
11 selectively fell. Also it has been found hat if you clear
12 an area there is a good deal of foraging allowed for
13 wildlife there that would not apply if you are only pulling
14 out individual trees.
15
16 Again it is certainly more economical to take out an area
17 and then it is much easier to reforest and to look after
18 the forest when you replace it. Again by clearing an area
19 you reduce the amount of wind throw. If you go on thinning
20 a forest you are in danger of losing that forest much more
21 in areas of high wind. Some species also need sunlight and
22 will not grow as well if, in fact, they are planted in
23 existing forest as opposed to in areas that have been
24 cleared. The process of leaving the branches on the ground
25 helps to provide a natural nitrogen replenishment on that
26 ground. By the very nature of doing this kind of process
27 there is less compaction and root damage on an area that is
28 cleared than if you run machinery in order to selectively
29 fell individual trees. So that in point of fact, you have
30 to be much more careful about your thinning process than
31 you do about your clearing process to avoid compaction.
32 When you have an even aged forest it is almost essential to
33 do a clearance of a given area in order to be able to
34 replenish it with new trees and start again with the
35 restructuring in the way we have described.
36
37 I give you those reasons why clear cut is still popular
38 because, in effect, to eliminate clear cut, as some would
39 have it, would be a very poor progress in the way forests
40 are managed. I think that now with many environmental
41 issues being addressed by foresters the balance is
42 beginning to be right.
43
44 Q. But the concern about the effects of clear cutting have not
45 only come from environmental movements; they have also come
46 from governmental and authoritative bodies, is that
47 correct?
48 A. Oh, yes. I mean the concern has been going on for
49 years and that is one of the reasons why gradually the
50 pattern has changed.
51
52 Q. Just in the middle of page 19 about selective clear
53 cutting, when you talk about, "by early generations of
54 foresters who planted trees under very different National
55 Policy demands", planted trees less discriminately, is that
56 where you are identifying past practices that now would not
57 be allowed?
58 A. Can you show me the paragraph?
59
60 Q. It is the paragraph that starts "This approach" in the
