Insightful, practical and inspiring piece on forest regeneration. With all the environmental damage inflicted on our forests for human extractive industrial uses, this is an important perspective. I would advocate for policies that REQUIRE a re-forestation plan as a condition for any commercial use of forest land. With Admonitions to consider sustainable uses as a priority, as are suggested in this article showing ways to recover poorly planned logging.
Red Elder – helping the forest recover
The property was almost perfect: in the right location, a natural spring as a water source, a small and nice house with a huge hearth, areas for chickens and gardens, a small pond and a stream bordering the edge of the property….pretty much everything was exactly what we hoped. Except for one thing: right before selling the property, the previous owners did some logging for profit, taking out most of the mature overstory of trees on 3 of the 5 acres. This left the forest in a very damaged place: cut down trees, lots of smaller limbs and brush, often piled up more than 5-8 feet high in places. I remember when I went to look at the property and started walking the land and just saying, “Why would they do this?” It hurt my heart. Could I live here, seeing what had…
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Patricia DeMarco Ph.D. 