I started working with my Dad as a young child. I always wanted to be involved with what he was doing. He was in the business of harvesting wood products and managing forest land. I learned many things, including how to leave the forests in a better, healthier, and more productive condition than when I started harvesting.
The conifer and mixed conifer and hardwood forests of the West are in desperate need of thinning. Many of our forests are a ticking time bomb because of decades of fire suppression and mismanagement. The forests are primed to be consumed by catastrophic wildfire and disease, such as bark beetle infestations. Overcrowded stands of trees and vegetation are loaded with excess fuel and are suppressed by overcrowding. Too many trees competing for limited resources, results in slower growth and more disease. We are already seeing the results of this with the devastating fires in the West every year.
Carefully selecting, thinning and harvesting excess trees greatly reduces the fire hazard. It leaves the remaining forest in a more healthy condition. Proper spacing allows trees more space and resources, like sunlight, water and nutrients. Trees will then grow much faster, become more able to resist bark beetles and other diseases.
Treating the forests is a huge job and is very labor intensive and costly. Many are seeking government grants and other forms of tax money to treat the forests. I prefer to leave other peoples tax money alone and treat our forest land by harvesting and selling useful wood products. Products such as, Lumber, small diameter poles, peeled logs, firewood, decorative branches, among others. These products are a great way to utilize this excess material in the forests. Producing these products helps pay for restoring forests to a more productive, healthy, and fire safe condition.
