Forestry Conservation

 

Forests in the California and North America are in a dire condition. A lack of management has left a great amount of American forests in flames or, even worse, decay. In the midst of this ecological crisis, forestry experts, the general public, and the media agree that our forestlands must be protected.

This apparent consensus on the need for the conservation of our forests can very easily give an optimistic outlook for our forests. However, conditions have not seen improvement- in fact they have worsened. According to the California Forestry Association, there has been a 300 percent increase in Californian wildfires over the past ten years. Today ten million acres and three million homes in California are at a high risk of severe wildfire.

According California State Fire Marshal, Kate Dargan, we have not seen improvement because of a fundamental communication gap between the experts of the forestry industry and the general public. In a video produced by Forests For the Next Century, Dargan observed that the public generally believes that the best way to protect our forests is by doing nothing, however forestry experts, she says, believe that the best way to protect forests is through management.

 As a result of over a hundred years of fire suppression and strict California forestry legislation, such as the Forest Practices Act, California’s forests are extremely dense and over-crowed. Now thousands of trees can be found on acres, which in the past only held 50 to 75 trees.

According Dr. Doug Piirto, the Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Department Head at Cal Poly, “too many trees per acre is not healthy”. Research conducted by United State Department of Agriculture Forest Service, has actually gone even further to state that thinning in forest stand can reduce wildfire severity by up to 60 percent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 65 percent.

These dense forests pose many problems. According to Forests For The Next Century, 74 percent of the 191 million acres of National Forest land is in a serious fire condition. Furthermore, in addition to wildfire concerns, when more trees are growing in an area than the soil can support, these trees will become increasingly stressed – and stressed trees are far more susceptible to incest infestation than healthy stands. These disease and insect infected trees also pose a large threat to global warming, because only one quarter of Carbon Dioxide released into the atmosphere by forests is smoke, the rest is directly because of the decay of trees.

Management is the key to a healthy forest environment. Thinning removes fire ladders-which have only appeared over the past years as a result of increasingly dense stands. Dr. Piirto said that foresters along with other professionals have helped this country become as efficient as it is a fire management.

California has one of the most diverse variety of forest ecosystems, from Coastal Redwoods- the tallest trees, Giant Sequoias- the largest tress, to Bristlecone Pines- the oldest trees. Every forest has different objectives; however management can play a huge role at the success of those objectives. Dr. Piirto participated in conducting a study at Lake Tahoe, that showed land and home had a higher value near forestland that was properly thinned than in areas where it was not.

North American forests are in a huge crisis that affects every person. The solution is also relatively clear. Forestry experts are trained to manage tomorrow’s forest and to meet society’s objectives. However strong negative public opinion towards many logging practices, a fundamental communication barrier, and California’s regulations, that are the strictest in the nation, are all huge obstacles to success.

However, Cal Poly’s Dr. Piirto is an optimist. He puts a considerable amount of faith in the general public of this state. “The California public recognizes that one size doesn’t fit all and the need for a working forest to meet the demands of a growing population” he said. He also said that Californians are smart.

The past ten years have been California’s worst fire years. Yet a considerable shift in the public belief on forestry conservation has not occurred. Dr. Piirto looks to growing concerns over climate change as a possible push towards this change in public opinion. Forestry experts believe they have a powerful tool in the fight against climate change.

 Cal Poly is successful at educating students in this area. In order to become a Registered Professional Forester, or RPF, a forestry professional must have a forestry degree from an accredited university. Cal Poly’s Forestry and Natural Resources major is accredited by the Society of American Foresters and therefore prepares students for a career in managing tomorrow’s forests.

Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch also offers a Forest Stewardship Council certified school forest. Students can learn in true Cal Poly fashion on frequent field trips to the forest, which has profited six million dollars over the course of its operation. Student can also apply management skills on this stand that uses an even age management system. Dr. Piirto also points to the faculty of the department as huge resource. Whether being studies in the area or databases developed by Cal Poly, the faculty has great experience in this area.