The purpose of this site is to bring about responsible fishing, hunting, forestry, and natural resource use by presenting information and debating the issues.
"Men are apt to settle a question rightly when it is discussed freely" ...
This section of the site is specifically designed to insure that forestry is done in a responsible and sustainable manner.
Responsible forestry is to be defined by using a number of factors. Those facetors include sustainability of employment from forestry activities. As such, responsible forestry includes ensuring that a consistent supply of wood volume gets to regional mills, thus preventing the boom and bust cycle associated with forestry where those individuals responsible for coordinating harvesting have no interest in community well being.
This site is built to examine some of the different harvesting methods available including "capturing the mortality of the stand", commercial thinning, cut to lenght, clear cutting, horse and skidder logging, and conventional clear cut logging. The site will also review the appropriateness of each type of forestry based on the forestry composition and the community needs.
One of these community needs in most northern communities is a guarantee that forestry activities will not destroy their main food base of wild game, or make it un-fit for human consumption.
As such, responsible forestry includes using alternative methods of deciduous (leafed) plant control rather than spraying herbicides. A petition been created which should be distributed widely. If our history has proven one thing, it is that the herbicides which are currently being used will be found to have caused great ecological damage, likely with long term and lasting effects. The 2003 report of the Auditor General echoes this view.
“The federal government does not have reliable, up-to-date information about pesticides that it needs to manage them effectively. It lacks significant information on the use of pesticides and exposure to them. Research on health impacts is very limited ..." (1.134 AG).
"Overall, we conclude that the federal government is not managing pesticides effectively." (1.136 AG).
“In several cases, the measures listed on pesticide labels, even if followed, appear not to have been enough to prevent environmental damage.”
Like the fish in the Great Lakes, our fish in our rivers, streams, and lakes could soon be deemed safe to eat only below a specified quantity, or possibly even unsafe for human consumption at any level.
Because responsible forestry includes insuring that the community is well provided for, it means that non-competing industries are not negatively affected by forestry operations, so as to increase diversity of employment opportunities.
Responsible forestry means ensuring that the value added wood sector is provided with more than enough lumber to work, and ensuring that other, more sustainable types of industries, like tourism, are not destroyed by forestry activities.
Responsible Forestry is comming soon to an area near you...
