Anti-Herbicie Petition

[IronNoggin]

Can't hurt to have browse that ain't poisoned methinks:

https://www.change.org/p/government...-to-kill-trees-like-poplar-that-wildlife-need

Cheers,
Nog

 

[bigdogeh]

signed...
can't put weedkiller on your lawn but this is OK...??

 

[IronNoggin]

Communicated directly with the fellow who initiated this petition. For those who might be curious, here is his reply:

"I guess I've been doing this the longest but there are some other folks I'm working by with on this, mostly hunters, trappers and loggers, folks who deal with the bush who really get it.

As for myself I grew up on a cattle ranch near punchaw lake where my parents still farm and run an organic apiary (nector collectors honey available at spruce capital feeds). I'm a woodworker (www.steidlewoodworking.com) in vancouver right now but am relocating to Prince George in the next year. I tree planted for three years and worked at clear lake sawmill for about four years on and off. I know the woods well having grown up in the middle of them. Prior to woodworking I did a masters degree in public policy and worked in government for a couple years.

In 2010 herbicide spraying down the blackwater road really picked up. BC timber sales wanted to spray some blocks adjacent to our ranch. I saw the outcome of the spraying the next year. I thought it was obvious that it was a stupid thing to do, growing more pine monocultures just after the beetle wiped out the lot of them. But I still thought I needed to investigate before I drew such hasty conclusions. I interviewed countless people in the field, but was struck most by Suzanne Simard's research and in talking with her I was struck by the notion herbicide spraying and brushing in general was done primarily out of bureaucratic momentum, there being no good scientific or economic reason to do it.

If you or others doubt this conclusion I'd go through my website and track down the studies and read them carefully. Every study will show you you can get more timber of all species in an unbrushed forest compared to a straight pine monoculture. (Albeit fewer pine). The solution in my mind is to do what they do in Edson Alberta, which is to practice mixed forestry and let the aspen grow. The only reason people are against this is because we think conifers are the only species with value.

In my woodworking practice I utilize aspen wherever I can and I'll say it is a great wood. It has tons of uses. It is as stable as cedar in that it has minimal wood movement wet to dry. It can be used for tongue and groove wall paneling, plywood, and structural beams, as Weyerhaeuser and Columbia forest products in Ontario do.

Other folks will advocate manual brushing and believe our economic future remains with conifers. Until a factory exists in Prince George that can utilize aspen, that is the reality. So brushing by hand I suppose is the simple alternative within the conifer centric paradigm. But I suspect it makes more sense to have greater biodiversity in our forests and there are other values to allowing aspen other than an increasingly automated and job-poor softwood mega industry that increasingly confers fewer and fewer benefits to northern residents. These values include a more robust and less vulnerable forest as aspen can reduce forest fire and slow down disease. Aspen support far more species of animals and plants, as I'm sure you already know. Pine monocultures are ecological deserts. Finally, aspen actually reflect more sunlight (read my letter to BC timber sales on the stop the spray home page) and sequester more carbon so they are a necessary tool to fighting climate change. The value in that alone dwarfs any that the softwood multinationals offer.

Give me a call if you want to chat some more.."

Legit.
I signed.

Cheers,
Nog

 

[Whole in the Water]

Just signed it, thanks for posting Nog!

 

[bigdogeh]

When I see a lack of responses to petitions such as this one it makes me think that most people are OK with stuff like this. I sure hope I'm wrong...

 

[Matsutake]

Signed. No brainer for me. Thanks for this.

 

[seascene]

Ditto.... Gawd, there is a war on. The sane vs the insane...

 

[Drewski Canuck]

ACTUALLY,

The Spraying of Aspen IS happening in Edson, Alberta. It started a few years back as a measure to increase the speed that conifers can get to before having to compete with the VERY FAST Growing Poplar / Aspen. Manual thinning works the same, but takes big labour costs to get guys in with brush saws to do it.

Poplar will come back naturally after being clear cut, as thick as 75,000 seedlings an acre! They out compete the pine, spruce, etc. It takes many years before the natural forest succession sees the confirs finally dominate (30 + years!!!).

However, the value of board feet vs Pulp (What Aspen is used for by APAC and Diashawa) drives the helicopter spraying of Roundup on the cut blocks.

Drewski