............THE FOREST ....AROUND US |
by Bill Moore |
“Never
The Twain Shall Meet” |
....A friend from across the seas once
stood with me on a logged off hill top and surveyed the effects of a
slash burn, and said: |
This system demands intensive pruning, frequent weeding and careful
removal of trees up to 17 years after planting. Special treatment, processing
and the final polishing of the white logs are all part of the production
of these beautiful poles. |
really,the forester, the logger and the manufacturer. We are dictated
to by economically sound” and abhor “not economically sound.”
We bend and we holler when we do. We listen to visitors from other less
fortunate forestry lands look aghast at our waste and we are able to
rationalize to ourselves with a “we’re getting better”
attitude. We tolerate mis-takes in logging methods because we are not
disciplined enough. Someday – someday – |
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page 34 | British Columbia
Lumberman, July, 1980 |
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they climb these slender beauties in the early morning with knives,
small hand saws and particular tools, and do not come down until evening.
They move from tree to tree by swaying the top, and simply begin their
work again. A skilled worker can prime and trim up to 120 trees in one
day. These men will earn over $150.00 Canadian dollars per day at this
agile work. |
....A
Sugi pole of three meters that is of the highest quality, sells for at
least $10,000! No wonder those agile climbing Japanese loggers take such
care of their product. But it is really not just the value. It is an inherited
sense of faith and culture that produces such care of the product. There
is no “allow-able waste” in Sugi production. Would that we
in our forest industry could borrow some of that sense of care and culture. ....Of course, as Kipling said, “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.” ....Well I have news for you, friends. We are meeting and we should pay attention to the folks from other lands who, when shown our forestry methods think we’re not for real. We have been the land of plenty and grumbled about it. We have the finest wood fibre source in the world and we could let its value be lost by a philosophy of allowable waste. |
....So
logger, before you start bragging about how big a tree you felled today,
or hauled today, or sawmilled today, or how badly done by we all are,
check up on some of the interesting, exciting or new things being done
in the world of forestry today. And yes – think Sugi! .........................Keep out of the bight, |
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British Columbia Lumberman, July, 1980 | page 35 |