Re resource base & clearcut

[Kenneth Sloane]

                      Subject:                              Time:  2:43 PM
  OFFICE MEMO         Re resource base & clearcutting       Date:  6/2/95

To Steve Brady: I would be glad to offer some articles about our resource
base. I will talk to you (maybe have something for you) at Albuquerque. Let's
hope maybe Audrey Karabinus and Don Mannino will offer something, too.

To Vince Mrykalo: Clearcutting is especially bad in Riparian environments
where erosion becomes such a problem after the cut. In the temperate
rainforests where the Sitka Spruce grows, clearcutting is very harmful to the
acquatic life of the rainforest ecosystem. The rivers and estuaries become so
clogged with mud and silt that life in the rivers virtually disappear. One of
the horrible things that happens is that salmon migration becomes impossible,
and as the salmon populations disappear, so do the mammals (whales, bears,
seals, eagles, fishermen, etc.) that depend on them for food. Even in forested
areas where erosion is not a huge problem  (it always is to some degree,
though), clearcutting has its drawbacks. For one, the mono-culture forests
that grow back (through planned planting and natural causes), provide a
completely different habitat than the original forest. Of course this is
disastrous for the wildlife of the area and is the reason that many local and
national hunting groups have become some of the most vocal opponents of
current day tree harvesting practices (also add sport fishing groups, too).
Also, clearcutting over several "tree generations" eventually removes too much
of the decaying mat that provides nutrients for the young trees. In Germany,
biologists are analyzing forests that have been cut too often, too quickly.
They frequently find only a few inches of this vital decaying mat left
(temperate rainforests often have many, many feet) and have labeled the
phenmenon that sets in as "Waldsterben", literally meaning forest death.