How do we ensure sustainable forests forever? Not just the trees, but the wildlife, water, soil, recreation opportunities, etc. Forests are moving targets, and we can’t possibly expect to control every aspect. So we try to control the ones that are easier to measure. One such control is the trees. We know all there is to know about the trees. How many, what species, their age, their height, and their location. We even understand the balance of how many of each species should exist across a broad landscape to maintain ecological function. Now, all we need to do is make sure that balance is maintained through good forest regeneration practices that consider all of the values we want in the forest. This episode is about the tools, tactics, and concepts that are allowing us to grow forests as sustainably as possible. Spoiler alert, herbicide might be one of them.
Resources
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Woodland Operations Learning Foundation
Non-target Impacts of the Herbicide Glyphosate-A Compendium of References and Abstracts
The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Sponsors
Giveaway
Enter YourForest10 at checkout at the Damaged Timber store for a 10% discount!
Quotes
05.48 - 5.58: “I guess the biggest thing about forestry is that we straddle a boundary between agriculture and ecology.”
17.44 - 17.51: “The whole idea of managing a forest is that we set out to maintain the forest in a condition similar to the condition we found it in.”
1.00.23 - 1.00.37: “The ecosystem is a whole fabric of values and biota wrapped around trees and the trees are simply the grid around which we weave a forest.”
Takeaways
Forestry values (05.48)
Milo points out that those who work in wildlife management focus strongly on ecological aspects of forests and wildlife or habitat-related ecosystem services. While that forms part of the suite of values that foresters manage, the other half is similar to agriculture, where foresters look to harvest trees for some fibre-related product in a sustainable way for the environment and economic development. Until recently, forestry was Canada’s largest industry.
Forestry economy (07.36)
While forestry is no longer the largest exporter in Canada, it continues to underpin the economy in many provinces. Milo says that silviculturists need to strike a careful balance to ensure the supply of both ecosystem services and wood fibre on public lands. He believes wood fibre needs to be thought about as an ecosystem service as well, not just using other ecosystem services to constrain production.
A co-management system (11.08)
Milo talks about how seeing other values as constraints makes foresters appear as only valuing harvesting trees. Foresters have a huge array of sophisticated forest management planning tools that help protect the production of fibre alongside other values. He acknowledges that foresters are shy and nervous about having open, honest conversations with stakeholders. He believes conversations should begin from a place of recognizing shared values.
Forest restoration (17.39)
Milo believes that if a forest type is harvested, the goal should be to restore it. He talks about the regulations in forest management which address that, ensuring trees are restored faster than they are harvested, bringing the two tasks into synchronicity. The composition of the forest harvested also needs to be restored. However, environmental factors impact forest growth so foresters need sequenced activities to nudge an ecosystem in the desired direction.
Forest nudging (22.03)
Milo shares that specific treatments are implemented only when they are needed, and gives the example of Alberta forest management to show how values are balanced. Those who are less risk-averse are more open to allowing the forest to respond in its own way, whereas those who are not, implement more treatments. An incremental approach to renewing forests helps to recognize values as co-management factors instead of constraints.
Then and now (25.49)
When Milo started out in reforestation 45 years ago, “it was all about large bulldozers with modified blades or rippers making dramatic changes to the forest soil”. The idea was that dramatic changes would cause seeds to germinate and not allow competing species. However, some competitive species can function as pioneer species, and he gives the example of Calamagrostis, which made them change to a nudge-based approach.
Replanting issues (32.12)
Milo notes that thinning isn’t consistent, so forests can be left with clumps with lots of seedlings and then portions of harvested areas with very few seedlings. Replanting nudges don’t address the issue of competition. Harvesting mixed forests causes trees to survive as subordinates and are still taken out by competition or mechanical damage, which means tree systems aren’t sustained the way they would need to be to meet forest management planning objectives.
Working with nature (35.30)
Milo shares that foresters exclude fires in North American forests, reducing fire intervals to centuries. Most natural fires are low intensity and help eliminate competitive species. He says Indigenous peoples used to manage the forests well for a wide array of values. A harvested mixed species stand doesn’t go back to a mixed species stand. He uses herbicide treatments to nudge the ecosystem, but they are costly, need to be repeated often and impact other species.
Benefits of herbicides (44.00)
Milo believes that herbicides are as good as planting for successful reforestation. They are low-profile on first use and almost replicate the old forest, except that the forest post-herbicide use tends to be conifer-dominated whereas the forest we would have without herbicide would be deciduous-dominated. The biodiversity is slightly lower where herbicides are used since it becomes tree-dominant, but that difference is not significant.
Herbicide concerns (52.12)
Milo highlights that public concern over the risks of herbicides increased after the book Silent Spring came out. He claims that extensive tests take place to examine toxicology and long-term effects of herbicides on an array of indicator animal species, beyond just human health. Glyphosate has come under the same scrutiny as DDT once was, but as an applicator with secondary exposure for 37 years, Milo claims it is used diligently and thoughtfully.
Protecting people’s land (59.49)
Milo believes that the communication around herbicides has not been done well. People are worried about exposure to herbicides when they visit a sprayed site, without knowing the benefits. He finds understanding people’s concerns and framing the discussion around their value premises important. He provides any concerned person with scientific research on the effects of herbicides to appease their concerns and uses nudges to get those value outcomes.
Scalpel approach (1.09.15)
Milo recalls how reforestation was done in the 70s and 80s. The additional processes that have been added today greatly add to the success of the efforts. However, he cautions that they are more successful at deciduous conifer-dominated reforestation than at establishing deciduous leading mixed woods. He likes to use herbicides more like a scalpel than a machete so it has less frequent dramatic effects.
Empower, not placate (1.12.54)
Milo shares that when an Indigenous community took objection to spraying herbicides in parts of their territory with moose and berries, Milo’s team trained some community members to use GPS to mark the territory that they didn’t want sprayed, which was respected by Milo’s team. He shares how open houses with the community help address concerns and honour commitments made to them, to build a trusting relationship with them while focussing on their values.
“First seek to understand before you seek to be understood” (1.21.02)
Milo believes that foresters need to understand others in order to establish themselves in the profession and help people. Understanding is easy; the part that takes time is taking a newfound understanding and integrating it into your value set so you can make sense of it”, he comments. People are concerned about herbicides, but getting rid of them would bring competitive species back, mandate aggressive site preparation and skew forest balance.
“Diversity is the very best way to ensure maintenance of the array of values” (1.28.56)
Milo says that if they perfectly restore broad-covered groups, a more diverse landscape will be created. He suggests bringing the suite of values into the conversation and quantification of decisions. He observes that people are opposed to the assumed effects of herbicides, but his team uses rigorous risk management to only spray where they commit. Once you prove your trustworthiness and genuine concern for the forest, you find common ground with people.
If you liked this podcast, please rate and review it, share it on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and tag a friend, and send your feedback and comments to yourforestpodcast@gmail.com.