Book Review by Scott Hanson - (Part one of a two-part series)

Introduction: (Why review this book?)
Sponsors of Oregon Ballot Measure 64 referred to it as the clearcut ban measure. However, in reality measure 64 was a hodge-podge of provisions including a number of leave trees per acre, a maximum diameter of harvestable tree, no pesticide or herbicide use, no slash burning, and citizen lawsuits to enforce new harvest restrictions. Oregon voters overwhelmingly (81%) voted no on measure 64's restrictive forest practices in the November 1998 General Election. Yet, there still seems to remain a wide gulf between environmental groups and woodland owners over the central issue, clearcut logging as a forestry management practice. Since the OSU School of Forestry and their extension agents are required to take a neutral stance on ballot measures, there never was much of a rational debate by professionals on the pros and cons of clearcut logging in the weeks preceding the November 1998 election. To many environmental groups, the word clearcut is a red flag. Much of their argument seems emotional, rather than scientific. They emphasize the negative visual appearance of a clearcut logging, and the coinciding "total devastation" of the land. Woodland owners consider the forestry practice of clearcut logging as one of many tools to effectively manage their land. They believe the earth is resilient after harvesting, and capable of producing future timber stands. The book I am reviewing by Patrick Moore, Pacific Spirit gives some scientific context on the clearcut logging issue.

About the Author
Patrick Moore has a unique background to write a book on forestry management practices in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. He grew up on the remote northwestern tip of Vancouver Island in a place called Winter Harbour. Both his father and grandfather worked as loggers in the rainforests of Vancouver Island. His academic background is in forest ecology from University of British Columbia. Forest ecology is the study of plants and animals in their forest environment. For fifteen years, he worked as an environmental activist with Greenpeace International, but today he is no longer affiliated with this group. Currently, he works as a timber industry consultant in British Columbia, and disagrees with Greenpeace's policy of a worldwide ban on clearcut logging.

Book Review -- Part 1
In the beginning of Moore's book he states that he disagrees with environmental group claims on the destructive impact of forest in general and clearcut logging in particular for forests of the Pacific Northwest and Canada. The remainder of the book defends this statement through photographs and science. His goal is to increase public understanding of the process of forest renewal. The stage is set for the groups, environmental versus forestry. Environmentalists see a choice between preservation and devastation, where new trees after logging are a monoculture fiber farm that lacks biodiversity. Once a forest is cut the ecosystem is destroyed forever.
A forester's response is that photographs challenge these claims. History shows us that forests have recovered from fire, ice, wind, volcanic eruption, disease, and human disturbance. Moore provides photographic evidence showing forestlands his grandfather logged sixty years ago that have recovered as new healthy forests. Forests will even recover without reforestation!

Deforestation
Clearcut logging is often linked to the term deforestation. However, deforestation is a two step process; cutting the trees and preventing them from returning to the site. Merely cutting the trees does not result in deforestation.

There are only three ways that forests can be blocked from the process of renewal after harvest:

• Plow the land every year and plant crops.
• Place livestock on the land, so every tree seedlings that tries to grow will be eaten.
• Cover the land with cement and buildings.