‘Proforestation’ separates people from forests
AKA: Ignorance and Arrogance Still Reign Supreme at the Sierra Club.
I picked this up from Nick Smith’s Newsletter (sign up here)
Emphasis added by myself as follows:
1) Brown Text for items NOT SUPPORTED by science with long term and geographically extensive validation. 2) Bold Green Text for items SUPPORTED by science with long term and geographically extensive validation.
3) >>>Bracketed Italics for my added thoughts based on 59 years of experience and review of a vast range of literature going back to way before the internet.<<<
“Proforestation” is a relatively new term in the environmental community. The Sierra Club defines it as: “extending protections so as to allow areas of previously-logged forest to mature, removing vast amounts of atmospheric carbon and recovering their ecological and carbon storage potential.” >>>Apparently, after 130 years of existence, the Sierra Club still doesn’t know much about plant physiology, the carbon cycle or the increased risk of calamitous wild fire spread caused by the close proximity of stems and competition driven mortality in unmanged stands (i.e. the science of plant physiology regarding competition, limited resources and fire spread physics). Nor have they thought out the real risk of permanent destruction of the desired ecosystems nor the resulting impact on climate change.<<<
Not only must we preserve untouched forests, proponents argue, but we must also walk away from previously-managed forests too. People should be entirely separate from forest ecology and succession. >>>More abject ignorance and arrogant woke policy based only on vacuous wishful thinking.<<<
Except humans have managed forests for millennia. In North America, Indigenous communities managed forests and sustained its resources for at least 8,000 years prior to European settlement. It is true people have not always managed forests sustainably. Forest practices of the late 19th century are a good example. >>>Yes, and the political solution pushed on us by the Sierra Club and other faux conservationists beginning with false assumptions about the Northern Spotted Owl was to throw out the continuously improving science (i.e. Continuous Process Improvement [CPI]). The concept of using the science to create sustainable practices and laws that regulated the bad practices driven by greed and arrogance wasn’t even considered seriously. As always, the politicians listened to the well heeled squeaky voters. Now, their arrogant ignorance has given us National Ashtrays, destruction of soils, and an ever increasing probability that great acreages of forest ecosystems will be lost to the generations that follow who will also have to cope with the exacerbated climate change. So here we are, in 30+/- years the Faux Conservationists have made things worse than the greedy timber barons ever could have. And the willfully blind can’t seem to see what they have done. Talk about arrogance.<<<
Forest management provides tools to correct past mistakes and restore ecosystems. But Proforestation even seems to reject forest restoration that helps return a forest to a healthy state, including controlling invasive species, maintaining tree diversity, returning forest composition and structure to a more natural state.
Proforestation is not just a philosophical exercise. The goal is to ban active forest management on public lands. It has real policy implications for the future management (or non-management) of forests and how we deal with wildfires, climate change and other disturbances.
We’ve written before about how this concept applies to so-called “carbon reserves.” Now, powerful and well-funded anti-forestry groups are pressuring the Biden Administration to set-aside national forests and other federally-owned lands under the guise of “protecting mature and old-growth” trees.
In its recent white paper on Proforestation (read more here), the Society of American Foresters writes that “preservation can be appropriate for unique protected areas, but it has not been demonstrated as a solution for carbon storage or climate change across all forested landscapes.”
Proforestation doesn’t work when forests convert from carbon sinks into carbon sources. A United Nations report pointed out that at least 10 World Heritage sites – the places with the highest formal environmental protections on the planet – are net sources of carbon pollution. This includes the iconic Yosemite National Park.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognizes active forest management will yield the highest carbon benefits over the long term because of its ability to mitigate carbon emitting disturbance events and store carbon in harvested wood products. Beyond carbon, forest management ensures forests continue to provide assets like clean water, wildlife habitat, recreation, and economic activity.
>>>(i.e. TRUE SUSTAINABILITY)<<<
Forest management offers strategies to manage forests for carbon sequestration and long-term storage.Proforestation rejects active stewardship that can not only help cool the planet, but help meet the needs of people, wildlife and ecosystems. You can expect to see this debate intensify in 2023.
Firstly , bringing any mention of woke into conversation about forestry is fools ploy.
Needing to find out a definition of proforestation- different than just a desire to reforest, pro forestry- in favor of such , the newest definition appears to be a desire to create ” virgin forest” not to be touched with or by man/ sciences thus plant and animal restored. Thats a perfect plan for protecting natural landscapes if humans can do it without squabble and introduction of scientific, philosophical ideas that didnt come with any original natural landscape…isnt all that supposed to be happening in all Wilderness Tracts, and therefore thus is logically prepatory proforestation for future designation of off limits Wildeness?? And i think their are rules that areas screwed up by man cannot be designated wilderness. So why not be honest about the desired outcomes and create some kind of B category of landscapes that have been trampelled by man as designated and preserved for future virginity…
However USFS and or BLM Lands are necessarily supplying regenerative resources for the people…lumber for an economy , grazing rights for food supplies , recreational zones for peoples peace and well being , ect , ect. Any violation by too much preservation-off limits-proforestation would actually be a national security issue of the nation and economic future. Therein somewhere now lost is the purpose and formation and expense of the United States Forest Service and Bureau of Lands Management…
Contemporarily viewing with a century or so of management; the complaints now by various arguments indicate that where forest are dead or dying or simple too thick with species (not ignoring mother nature allowed overgrowth while man may be entirely responsible for the rest) people assigned to the task did a lousy job , particularly at harvesting overgrown forest..before they did die and burn…the policy of smokey bear to stop fires and preserve maximum yields resulted in too many trees that someone failed to harvest either by groups resistance, lawsuits, judicial orders or just plain old laziness..which equals lack of leadership which the 1960 Forest Act was about maximum sustainable resource and Wildernesses. set beyond and protected..
Forestry is about plain old hard physical work= after cutting the virgin forest as we surely did, you plant 5 trees , two survive and you harvest one and leave one and replant more from their seeds.
Thus come employment opportunities , jobs , harvesting the resources , not harvesting resource and so issues argued now are likely why before; social arguments prevented the work to be accomplished..if ypu see these statements going in circles-its a description what the USFS has been up to while the hard physical work of Forestry feel victim to talk and little work. Fortunately forest do grow without mans coaching. In its origin man found virgin forest and harvested its resources for a particular quality of life…The Unites States are a group of persons who all desire a share of that quality-well not all! For a nation to thrive their has to be a steady flow of those resources. Again its national security. The people should be aware within proforestion newly defined there are likely hidden forces, lets call them the heirs of the Gilded Age of America which began about the time the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1859 on thru the 1920’s known as the ROARING TWENTIES” = THE GILDED AGE when monopolies granted then created great wealth and concentrated power..they essentialy had ” carte blanche” to strip the continent of the easiest found and most valuable resources. Today those heirs have every monopoly and every conceived advantage and you might want to be aware they have a great desire to return America to its virgin landscapes past and unfortunately “we the people” are not part of that plan…
Under the so called scientific theory of prescribed burn watching 320,000 acres of forest and landscape burn in New Mexico aka Hermits Peak , it occured in thoughts such was intentional. Destruction – oops sorry- taxpayer will reimbures those lives changed for generations and then seeing an absolute professional clamor to continue with more greater versions of prescription , the cure to the illness…all evidence indicates the USFS has great skills socially with all interested parties but the results on the continent indicate no better than a C – grade if that isnt generous as just mentioned hermits peak is a F , a complete failure. Is there any logic or common sense that any conversation of future planning by the same powers in charge shall result in better than C- to F ?
Wake up good people , it is my fear.
You are dreaming and wasting your time and bounty! Those of the gilded age and their heirs always get what they want as you view your Christmas Holiday with less and less , its called cohnitive psychology where they maneuver you inti consenting- i dare say a dying forest where they will heal it after your social approval and so scientifically by roasting 320,000 and now their back after 6 months advising on a social and scientific level ” there just getting started” with the prescription. Insanity ? . Yes! Good people who cant imagine any thing but trust, still trusting. There was a glimmer of light recently in Grant County Oregon when the sheriff arrested the USFS employment for reckless burning! Therein a truely remarkably decision to move in the right directions .
Any movement striving to return a forest condition to virgin is a beautiful thing. Howecer man and a nation sink or swim with how well they do form an agency that is working for them and not unseen forces..now look around your nation and ask you gut what you see, what is your fruit , your harvest from all the talk ..all that kind socializing and not just your USFS and BLM.. there are billionaires managing large herds of bison for decades on their private lands and it naturally occurred of gut feeling their purpose and plan is to virginize the great plains with new like former vast herds of bison alongside the revirginized great forest which requires near zero population of we the people. Scrutiny of these statements in truth of the fruits hanging or not stand up far better than scrutiny of the science of prescription burns or trust of the fruits of future of any other plans and purpose of your USFS. What does common sense tell you. ? And a Merry Christmas to All. Ho , ho , ho ! St. Nick !
People continue to irrationally want a pre-human landscape, in a world dominated by people. Never mind that over 85% of all wildfires in this country are ignited by humans. Some of us cannot ignore this crazy juxtaposition.
No point in commenting , ive been to state and federal court about all these lies of government.Tricky dick did his dirty deeds after killing jfk and rfk not forgettin general patton , and its all happening because americans refuse to look at the results of 50 years and nixons trip to china.
Duplicate Comment Deleted by Gil 12/19/22
See post above as follows:
“Tricky Dick
December 17, 2022 at 7:42 pm”
Gil, this is “forestism”… why shouldn’t people leave grasslands, shrublands and marshes alone too?
Also I think the juxtaposition of this post with the today’s Sequoia post shows a bit how the “leave alone” policy doesn’t work for people.
Sharon
1) “this is “forestism”… why shouldn’t people leave grasslands, shrublands and marshes alone too?”
Ah, Yes. But logic isn’t being used by those who espouse that mankind can’t do anything right when it comes to “nature”. In fact they somehow ignore that man is the result of nature and therefore just as much a part of nature as any other living thing and possibly anything, rocks and all.
2) Excluding mankind from nature and defining nature as good not to be interfered with by mankind results in random chaos. Whether Faux Conservationists admit it or not, “random chaos” is exactly the opposite of “sustainability”. At least it is If we define sustainability as maintaining a region level ecosystem in a relatively narrow range of fluctuation for extended periods of time (i.e. Ecosystem preservation rather than the impossible Stand preservation). Remember, management for shade tolerant species is not the same as for shade intolerant species. Think of what would happen if we forbade sustainable farming or non “natural” medicines and so on and so on ad nauseam. Imagine the vast fluctuation in human population due to nutritional deficiencies due to vast fluctuations in food as well as in climate due to vast fluctuation in climate ameliorating forests not to mention all of the other catastrophic consequences of emotional and panic driven thoughtless policies. The word Extinction or near extinction comes to my mind, But then maybe that is what is behind some of this “mankind is bad for nature” thinking. If it is then these charlatans, need to show their conviction and concern for the rest of mankind by checking out of life.
When your fears cause you to run from something (i.e. mankind as the steward of nature); you better be sure that you know what you are running to and the consequences of following a Pied Piper. At one time the Sierra club carried bios of their past and present heads. After I ridiculed one, they removed it. The one I ridiculed stated that that head honcho had flown over some clearcuts at the age of somewhere around 6 or 8 and immediately deemed clearcuts to be aesthetically unacceptable and guilty of other atrocities. Certainly that man was no all knowing god and inexcusably still hadn’t studied much of the science about sustaining forests since his excusable pronouncement as an 8 year old child. The Sierra Club is still following that 8 year old Pied Piper. BTW clearcuts when used to regenerate certain species that need scarification and lots of sunlight is a counterbalancing means for more successful regeneration and the risk reducing spacing of age classes and forest types reducing acreage loss to wildfire, insects and disease as has been validated over time and extensive geological regions as opposed to the desperate, uninformed, panic driven “let’s try this” policy, of the last 30 years or so, devoid of any well validated science.
It may not mean anything to most of you but I think that it is probably why the One True, all knowing God, creator of all that is, made mankind the steward (manager) of the earth as we see in Genesis Chapter 1 verse: 26 “Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” (No sense in getting into any discussion of faith based theology – Accept or Reject as your freedom dictates.)
However, we don’t have to believe in or understand God to see the mess that a few financially and politically powerful organizations have made of our national forests in comparison to the constantly improving situation in the 100 years between the timber barons (who did a lot less damage than the faux conservationists have now) and the faux conservationists in their drive to exclude mankind from having any stabilizing counterbalance to random chaos.