Terrace Review —

Furore in the forest — the clear-cutting debate

by Michael Kelly

r. Hamish Kimmens sees D the same pattem repeated- ly in the long-term history of humanity’s efforts to use the

forests. With the public outcry against clear cutting, he fears a

the forest industry, the social fabric that is based on the forest econ- omy, and the resource itself,

Kimmens, a professor with the UBC Faculty of Forestry, stopped in Terrace during a lecture tour of the province in March. More than 50 local people listened to his analysis of the clear cutting debate.

"Of all forestry issues, clear cutting raises the most anger, antipathy and confusion,” he said, then explained that he is not an advocate of clear cutting but advo- cating a rational, thoughtful approach to the question.

Forestry in any jurisdiction his- torically can be viewed in four evolving phases, Kimmens said: an unregulated cutting phase that usually exhausts the resource; an

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Dr. Hamish Kimmens: ‘We must avold embracing the wrong paradigm.

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administrative phase that attempts, always in an unsuccessful manner, io belatedly regulate cutting; an ecologically-based phase founded on reliable, site-specific silviculture practices; and the "social" phase, ‘in which values other than com- mercial timber play a much larger role in the management of forest. lands.

Kimmens believes that the pro- cess is taking place much faster in North America than it has in the past in other parts of the world. The "social" phase has arrived before the ecologically-based phase has even had time to get a good start, and wide-spread opposition

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nent indication of that.

"The public is asking things of the industry that it hasn’t devel- oped the capability to deliver yet," he said.

But they’re working on it, and Kimmens sees the public pressure put on industry as, overall, a good thing. "The environmental move- ment is responsible for the green- ing of the public and the politi- cians, and they descrve to be com- mended, But 1 would respectfully ask that (heir rhetoric be changed,”

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backlash that could inflict harm on

to clear cutting is the most promi-

Wednesday, May8, 1991 C15

he said.

Kimmens sees a danger in the

public mood, however, Clear cut- ‘ting was at one time universally applied to every stand of trees in

B.C., an attitude totally insensitive to the individual ecology of sites. If clear cuts somehow become

banned under public pressure,

Kimmens fears, whatever method for harvesting that succeeds clear cutting would suffer from the same problematic attitude — a single solution for an astounding diversity of different landscapes and ecosys- fems. -

"We must avoid embracing the wrong paradigm," he urges.

What is done with the forests will depend upon what values we establish for it, Kimmens argues. When asked if he thinks logging has changed the ecology of B.C., Kimmens replied, "I suspect for- estry has had no effect. The physi- cal framework -— mountains, rivers — creates the ecology, nothing short of a meteorite can change that.

"On a local scale, forestry can augment or degrade, it would depend on the biodiversity goals... but we don’t have biodiversity goals. We have to be clear about what we want."

On the issues of preserving woodlands, Kimmens reflected on the now-famous spotted owl con- troversy in ihe northwestern U.S., a preservation move that took thousands of hectares out of the operable forestry land base. "We have to decide what we value and realize the social costs of those values. How much do we conserve, considering that our social values depend on using the resource?"

Preservation nearer to home was another question Kimmens took. With regard to the proposal to set aside the Kitlope watershed south of Kemano from any logging or development, he said, "We don’t have to manage every last hectare on this planet. These areas will become more valuable as they become more scarce. There will have to be trade-offs, because there is a social cost.

"The level of reservation depends on the value placed on it. As an individual, I think it’s a reasonable

. thing to do."

Earlier, however, Kimmens had noted that from an ecologist’s perspective there is little sense in blanket preservation of entire watersheds, "If less than 30 percent of the vegetation is disturbed, there’s no impact,” he explained.

In the Terrace area, Kimmens said, he had seen large clear cuts "that would offend many people". Those cuts, he added, appeared to have taken place during the "ad- ministrative cra". The industry: Is taking a different approach to visual impact of logging now, he added. "There are still things to be improved, but in 22 years I have seen many changes.” |

"When we log," he concluded, "what was there is there no more. But there are processes of recov-

ety.

"Bul, is that recovery fast enough

to satisfy our social agenda?"

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