Exploitation and Greed in Eastern Hardwood Forests

Abstract

he 1980s brought a period of change within the eas hardwood forest, highlighted by a resurgence of exploitation that most foresters thought had long vanished from the landscape. This slide of sound forestry set up the '90s as a decade of reckoning, and may give landowners only two choices. They can continue high-grading and systematically removing the reserves of large trees and choice species, just as careless cutting depleted the region's forests during the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. Or they can opt for a sweeping program of silviculture and responsible stewardship. However, foresters may not find themselves in a position to influence the decision, any more than they seemed able to prevent the decline of forestry during the last decade. Depletion Scare Renewed exploitation seemed unlikely during the 1950s, amid forecasts of a shortfall in wood supply for a growing national and worldwide population. Data suggested that heavy cutting and forest clearing during the early 1900s had depleted the growing stock and brought the production potential of eastern forests to a dangerously low level (e.g., USDA Forest Service 1955). This seemed to shock the forestry community and the nation, and appropriate silviculture was promoted as a positive alternative for the future. During the 1960s, new surveys revealed net increases in total wood supply and forest acreage. These statistics suggested a period of rebounding and regrowth; nevertheless, analysts continued to forecast a shortage of sawlog-size materials within the eastern forests, particularly among choice species. In addition, foresters began to worry about the continued availability of timber as more and more people from urban areas purchased old farms and woodlots to use primarily as weekend sanctuaries and sites for second homes. To combat the trend, they recommended intensified management to increase the supply of desirable timber on other lands, and concurrently to maintain an acceptable forest environment across the landscape (USDA Forest Service 1973).