MAINE FOREST SERVICE: POSITION ON CLEAR-CUTTING.
We, the Maine Forest Service, in general, don't believe in the practice of clear-cutting for sustainable forest management. Below is a brief highlight for the different factors why we disagree with clear-cutting. We would like to point out, however, that clear-cutting is an economically efficient way to harvest timber. In the following pages, the Committee On Clear-Cutting Policy (CCP) will see our position on each of the proposed regulations. .
Firstly, the committee should be informed of the research that the Maine Forest Service has done to examine the effects of clear-cutting on the forest environment as a whole. These effects explain the long-term persistence of clear-cutting operations which will eventually affect forester's jobs and the supply of timber. .
First and Foremost, clearcutting destroys the natural balance of the forest ecosystem. It is a common misconception that the forest isn't a "living" place, and that similar to fields of corn or wheat, the trees are merely "our crops" to be harvested when needed. This is clearly not the case. Trees are not only the home to the animals and insects that live in them, but they are also the home of numerous types of microorganisms and bacteria such as the mycorrhizal fungi, an important organisms who's existence directly correlates to the growth rate of new and existing trees. Removing mass numbers of trees rich in these organisms not only hurts the future generation of trees that will be planted there, but the surrounding trees around them. In sum, each part of the forest is dependent on the other for means of survival.
Secondly, clearcutting justifies the use of other destructive methods for replanting, destroying the soil, and the natural growth cycle of trees. The forest soil, is possibly the most valuable resource in the forest. With out healthy soil, trees do not grow rich and strong, which will ultimately lead to less lumber.