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Leal 1

SustainableLogginginthePacificNorthwest

ResearchQuestion:Howdosustainableloggingpracticesaffectthehealthandwellbeingof
bothforestsandhumansinthePacificNorthwest?

ThePacificNorthwesthassometrulybeautifulforeststhatareusedforrecreational
activitiessuchashiking,camping,huntingandfishing.Thetreesthemselvesareenoughtokeep
peopleeagerlycomingbacktoadmire,especiallythePonderosaPine,whichareespecially
stunninghere.Thesepublicforestshavesuchahighaestheticvaluetohumansthatitcanbe
easytoviewthemfromapreservationstandpointalone.Itsnothardtotrytojustifyeliminating
timberharvestingandloggingbasedsolelyontheaestheticvalueofthetrees.However,thisis
notalwayswhatisbestforthewellbeingoftheforestorforhumans.Loggingatasustainable
rateinthePacificNorthwestisbeneficialforthepeopleandtheforests,andshouldbeusedasa
waytoreducehighintensityfireandhelptheeconomy.
Sustainableloggingisaverybroadandcomplexterm,butitcanbefundamentally
definedasharvestingthetimbernecessarytomeetthepresentneedsofthepeoplewhilemaking
surethesamethingwillbepossibleforfuturegenerations.Todothis,thehealthoftheforest
mustbemaintained.(Shifley,S.)Clearcutting,forexample,isnotasustainablelogging

Leal 2

practicebecausewearetakingmoretimberthanwillberegrownbythetimewewillneedto
harvestagainandwearenegativelyimpactingthehealthoftheforest.Whensustainablelogging
practicesarenotusedasahealthywaytoharvest,itcanbedetrimentaltoforestandhuman
healthandwellbeing.
Whenforestsarentloggeditoftenresultsinhighintensityfire.Itsarguedthatfirecan
begreatforaforest.Thisistrue,butonlywhenthatfirehasalowintensity.Lowintensityfires
canbeverygoodforforesthealthbecausetheyclearuptheforestfloor,givenutrientstothesoil,
givetreesmorespace,andburnsmallertreestogivelesscompetitiontooldertrees.Theyalso
makeoldertreesmoreresilienttofire.(BenefitsofFire)Becausethetreesaremorespaced
outandmoreresistanttofire,firesarelessdetrimentaltotheforestsandthepeoplethatdepend
onthem.Fireswerewidelysuppresseduntilaround1970,("U.S. Forest Service Fire
Suppression")thusresultingintheforestbecomingovergrownandtoothick.Thismadethe
forestshighlysusceptibletotheverydamaginghighintensityfire.Theforestishealthierwhen
lowintensityfirescomethrough,butbecauseweletourforestsbecomeovergrownbyputting
outthefires,weneedsomethingelsetokeeptheforestsclear.Thisiswhereloggingcanplaya
largeroleinimprovingforesthealth.Sustainableloggingcangivealotofthesame
improvementstoaforestasalowintensityfire.Byharvestingsomeofthetrees,ithelpsolder,
strongertreesoutcompeteyoungerones,leavingamoreopenforest.Thiswillallowsunlightto
getdowntotheforestfloor,helpingplantsandthesoil.Becausetherearefewertreesinaforest
thatsbeenlogged,thenexttimeafirehitsitwillmostlikelybealowintensityfire,helpingthe
forest.

Leal 3

PerhapsoneofthemostimportanteffectsoflogginginthePacificNorthwest(PNW)is
theaffectithasonpeople.OnespecificplaceinthePNWthattheseaffectscanbeseenisLake
County,Oregon,inthesmalltownofLakeview.Loggingmadeupasignificantpartofthesmall
townseconomy.Theloggingbusinesstookaseverehitbackin1980withtheeconomys
recessionandthenagainin1991whenthegovernmentdiscontinuedlogginginlargeamountsof
thePNWsforestsinordertoprotecttheSpottedOwl(Welch,C.)Theoncethrivingmilltown
wasabsolutelydevastated.Fourofthefivelumbermillsclosed,andmorethan800jobswere
lost.(VanDerVoo,L.).Foratownthatwhosepopulationwasonly3500,thiswasahugehitto
theireconomy.Thepopulationshrankbyafourth.(VanDerVoo,L.)Thissituationisnt
uniquetoLakeview,oreventoLakeCounty.ThiswasseenacrosstheentirePacificNorthwest.
39,000jobswerelostinOregonandWashington,andmanymillsandloggingcompanieswent
bankrupt.(Daniels,J.)Butitwasmorethanjustcompaniesthatwerelost.Peoplehadtheir
livelihoodsandwaysoflifetakenfromthem.
Today,Lakeviewstillhasonlyoneoperatingmill,whichisusuallysufficient.However,
inthesummerof2012,LakeviewexperiencedtheBarryPointFire.Itburnednearly100,000
acresofbothpublicandprivatelandinOregonandCalifornia.(USFS)Theareasurrounding
BarryPoint,wherethefirestarted,hadntbeenloggedoreventhinnedforyears,andwasa
proposedtimbersaleareaforthenextfiscalyear.(Cavanaugh,C.)Becausetheareahadnt
beenlogged,theforestwasovergrownwithtreesthatcaughtfireandspreadquicklyinthehot
summer.Firefighterswereunabletocontainitfordays.Thinkabouthowmuchhabitatandhow
manyanimalsweredecimatedinthishighintensityfire.Thesenumberswouldbemuchlowerif

Leal 4

theareahadbeenlogged,andthefirewouldverunoutoffuelandbeenalowintensityfirethat
helpedtheforest.
Inconclusion,sustainablelogginginthePacificNorthwestisagreatwaytohelpboththe
peopleandtheforests.Itshouldbeusedasawaytoreducehighintensityfireandhelpthe
economy.Loggingisstillacontroversialtopic,andthereareextremistsonbothsidesofthe
debate.Ononehand,youhavepeoplewhocareverydeeplyaboutourforestsandseethemas
somethingthatmustbepreservedcompletelyandatallcosts.Ontheotherside,therearepeople
whoseetheforestsolelyasatooltobeusedingettingwhattheywantnamelymoney.We
mustfindawaytobridgetheevergrowinggapbetweenpreservationandconservation.This
balancecanbefoundwhenwelogsustainably,asitcanbeusedtomanageforestsfromboth
perspectives.

Leal 5

WorksCited:

California State Government. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Benefits of

Leal 6

Fire. Web.
Cavanaugh,Cheran.Personalinterview.Aug.2012.
Daniels,JeanM."TheRiseandFallofthePacificNorthwestLogExportMarket."www.fs.fed.us.
UnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculture,Feb.2005.Web.4Feb.2014.
McCollum,Donna."WhatCanBeDoneWithBurnedTimber."ktre.com.Worldnow,22Jun
2011.Web.4Feb2014.
Shifley, Steven R. United States. Forest Service. Fairly Sustainable Forestry: Seven Key
Conceptsfor Defining Local Sustainability in a Global Ecosystem. Web.
"U.S. Forest Service Fire Suppression." foresthistory.org. U.S. Forest Service, 25 Oct 2013.
Web. 26 Feb 2014.
USFS.UnitedStates.ForestService.BarryPointFireReviewFremontWinema&Modoc
NationalForestsUSDAForestService.Lakeview:UnitedStatesDepartmentof
Agriculture,2013.Web.
VanDerVoo,Lee."RuralOregontimbercountyseekseconomicrevivalthrough
renewables."HighCountryNews.(2011):n.page.Web.5Feb.2014.
Welch, Craig. "The Spotted Owl's New Nemesis."Smithsonian Magazine. Jan 2009: n. page.

Leal 7

Web. 26 Feb. 2014.

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