A Commentary on Clearcuts and Trails

To many people the word clearcut is the equivalent to any choice four letter word and conjures up the image of a wasteland. On our State Forests we often get comments from forest users when a clearcut occurs, especially when their favorite trail runs adjacent to or through the area. I am not going to pass judgement on anyone for their beliefs about forest management. First of all, I can easily see why people get upset over clearcuts. They are not aesthetically pleasing and it is hard not to miss the mature trees that once stood there. What I hope to accomplish is to give a different perspective on clearcuts and explain why we do them.

In forest management foresters apply basic ecological principles to manipulate or control the natural changes and reactions of trees to planned disturbances. Harvesting methods such as thinning, clearcuts, etc. are all types of planned disturbances. However, these methods all mimic unplanned disturbances. What are unplanned disturbances? Wildfire, hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms, insect invasions, disease, etc. If you were to look at a clearcut versus a patch of forest hit by a hurricane, the differences would be minor with the exception of the wood being absent from the ground. Foresters try to be copycats of mother nature, afterall she has been taking care of the forests since the beginning.

So why do we clearcut instead of letting mother nature do it? There are many reasons. Income, to change species composition (hardwood to pine or vice versa), wildlife habitat, etc. In the most recent case of a clearcut, at the Whitney State Forest, the objective was to harvest a mature stand of White Pine (that was beginning to fall apart naturally) and replace it with a native stand of Shortleaf Pine. Trees do have a lifespan and will eventually die on there own. In a recreational setting such as a State Forest we must take caution when trees are beginning to die as this poses a risk to users passing by underneath.

Well how can a clearcut be good for wildlife when there are no trees left? Clearcuts allow for full sunlight to hit the ground. This allows more grasses and shrubs to become established alongside tree seedlings and stump sprouts. These grasses and forbes provide a food source and habitat not found in a mature forest. Birds, small mammals, and other animals need these things to survive. It may look like a tangled nightmare but think of it from a rabbit's perspective. Do you think you would be safer in that tangled thick brush/thorns or on an open forest floor? A good friend of mine was helping me with a forestry talk recently. We were with a group of adults standing next to a clearcut which was separated from a mature forest by a gravel road. He showed the group something special. He told them to close their eyes and listen carefully. Then he asked what they heard. The answer was bird calls. Then he asked from which direction they were coming. The group sheepishly admitted that it was coming from the clearcut. Neotropical birds thrive in clearcut environments where small seed sources and shelter are readily available.

So I think I have beaten the subject to death, I could keep going, but hopefully I gave readers a little more information to think about. Again, for those of you who don't like clearcuts, I'm not saying you're wrong in your opinion or that you have to like them because foresters do. I'm just trying to bring to light why we use them and will continue to.