Fatal Flaws for Industrial “Forestry”
Forest owners know virtually nothing about forestry or timber values
Professional foresters tell landowners they are not qualified to manage their own timber:
Only a ‘professional’ can write a management plan
Only a ‘professional’ can manage a timber harvest
Forest owners are forced to give over control of their timber to an ‘expert’
Government Foresters use ‘free stuff’ to entice and control landowners
Forestry programs actually discourage forest management
Market prices for timber are way below the costs of owning timber
Some landowners may average $10-$20/acre annual income - if lucky
99% of woodlot owners don’t consider timber a manageable crop
Low prices pressure loggers to work fast and dirty just to survive
Low prices encourage timber buyers to short-change landowners
Timber markets and messy logging practices discourage forestry
Forests continue to be fragmented into smaller ownerships
Small forests are more difficult to manage
High Property Taxes force landowners to harvest any merchantable timber
Taxes force people to join MFL(property tax break) – they have no interest in forest management
Large Timber Harvesting Machines require large amounts of wood
Bigger machines and smaller number of loggers are the trends
Machines have to work in bad conditions just to make payments
Damage and waste discourage forest owners
There is little to no enforcement of forestry ethics or timber protection laws
No forest owners are satisfied with timber harvests –
Everything moves on as it is better than nothing.
Industrial trends in 2009 – mills are closing, more loggers go out of business, demand and prices are falling for the forest owner. Good logs and lumber are exported, jobs are lost to China, cheap imports are flooding the area Big Box Stores.
As a result: Timber is not managed in a responsible manner for the future
Bottom Line – at Best – 5% of landowners actively manage their timber in a knowledgeable manner.
Compared to the Menominee Tribal Forest and German Forestry – this is a DISGRACE!!
There is no excuse for ignorance today!
Compared to management of our other agricultural crops – forestry is a disgrace!
Wisconsin DNR Forestry = Head in the Sand Management!
DNR foresters only offer industrial logging for woodlot owners
Wraps everything in “sound forestry” to protect their job in failing system.
Certification has become completely meaningless
I was the first to be FSC Certified – there is a global demand for certified wood –
“We want top-quality lumber in container-load quantities for rock-bottom prices” - Buyers
“We sell just the best quality lumber – and it is harvested sustainably!!” - Sellers
No one in the certification systems knows the business of sustainable forestry
DNR does not have enough staff to monitor forest operations –
foresters spend most time doing paperwork in office
There are no protections for landowner on timber sale payments or logging work
Foresters are supporting remaining timber industry corporations for as long as possible
DNR Co-opts any forest owner initiative to stay in control (WWOA, Coops, WFF etc)
Protects their “profession” at all costs – cover up any problems
Good Forestry has been compromised to allow traditional industrial logging to continue –
to protect the jobs of the foresters and certifiers.
Industry will continue to downsize, close mills – forestry will become more meaningless as demand for wood and timber prices decline.
Wis DNR repeatedly claims to be a leader in sustainable forest management, yet only a few percent of landowners actively manage their timber in a future oriented manner. The existing forest management system actually discourages good forest management. They do not see the ongoing trends and are doing little to change things for the better or avoid the impending crash of industry. They entice and control landowners with property tax breaks, free services and free money – they would have few participants without these freebies. People join the MFL for the tax break, not to manage their timber.
Wisconsin’s Forest Management Propaganda is likely the best in the world, but those of us who live and work in the forest know that it is all a SHAM. Wisconsin foresters practice PHONEY PHORESTRY. They say it is 'sustainable' and now 'certified' as long as their own jobs are sustained, but no forester could live on what they tell forest owners to do.
What DNR Forestry/professional foresters should do:
(They could not live on what they recommend to forest owners!)
Learn common sense/state of the art forestry
Listen to forest owners – Encourage forest owners
Clean up their profession and practice ethics
Abolish MFL – forests should pay their share of our property taxes
End the welfare mentality that cripples forest management
Tax forest fairly as agricultural land
Evaluate cost/benefits of all DNR programs by outside auditor/taxpayers/forest owners
Evaluate wildland fire system – full time staff for a few grass/woods fires??
Eliminate redundant fire coverage where possible
If forest owners were informed of alternatives and information, things could change.
There is an alternative to all this!
Full Vigor Forestry
Forest owner is fully informed, involved, IN Control.
Common sense – natural forest management – no industrial pressures.
Small selective harvest every year to maintain a profitable business. 1 Tree/acre/year
The same professional timber harvester returns each year to do good logging.
The smallest possible machinery is used, hauling is at minimum distance.
Wood is used for its’ highest value product in the local economy.
Minimum energy is used – most of that is renewable.
Solid natural products are made – not thinly veneered stuff that soon ends up in a landfill.
Resources, jobs, money all kept in the local economy
The community is supported by the forest – not a distant corporation
Birky