Stone age principles for modern forest management

Abstract

Forestland managers must deal with the complexity of balancing environmental sustainability with the economic demand for wood and alternate forestland uses. Decisions are not always easy, and looking to human history might provide a framework for dealing with modern forestland management issues. The Stone Age was a period when basic engineering skills were developed, animals were domesticated, and humans began establishing permanent settlements around agricultural crops. It was also a time when great stone structures like Stonehenge were built. By going back to the Stone Age, the roots of modern civilization, we might find some basic underlying principles that guided our ancestors, and they might be useful for modern management. I have called these five basic principles the Stone Age principles: (1) observe and learn from nature, (2) use the resources you have, (3) leverage skills and knowledge, (4) use teamwork, and (5) commit to the task. Copyright © 2008 by the Society of American Foresters.