The Logging Industry vs. The Old Growth Forests of the Pacific Northwest and the Northern Spotted Owl.
The Pacific Northwest is perhaps most commonly known for its awe-inspiring old growth forests that have been gracing the land for hundreds and hundreds of years. The land in British Colombia, Canada, Washington state, Oregon, and parts of Northern California are the only areas in the world where these forests exist. One of the most unique and amazing inhabitants of this age-old forest is the Northern Spotted Owl. The Northern Spotted Owl has been on the endangered species list for over ten years now. The Northern Spotted Owl can only be found in these old growth forests. The northern spotted owl requires many acres old forests to survive, due to its scarce food supply. They are very sensitive to their habitat, and simply cannot survive in any other environment. These owls, as well as the forests have been disappearing at an alarming rate due to the immense logging industry in its area.
Logging is a huge industry in the Pacific Northwest for obvious reasons. The abundant, lush, forests are an ideal location for major logging companies to stake their claim. For many Pacific North westerners, and Americans in general, the logging industry is a major part of the economy. Many loggers have been raised and trained for their entire life to become loggers. Many loggers know no other skills to support themselves other than logging and the logging industry. There are many communities located in the Pacific Northwest that are supported fully by the logging industry. Without the logging of the old growth forests, their families and their livelihoods would be ruined.
These two sides of the issue bring about a major controversy in America today. Should the Pacific Northwest’s old growth forests and the welfare of the Northern Spotted Owl be sacrificed for America’s economy, and the jobs of the people in the logging industry? Which should be placed at a higher value, the forests in the Pacific Northwest and the northern spotted owl, or the American economy and the jobs and welfare of thousands and thousands of people?
These are very difficult questions for me personally to answer because I live in the Pacific Northwest, and I have seen the beauty of the old growth forests first-hand.
Poulson, T. L., & Platt, W. J. (1996). Replacement patterns of beech and sugar maple in Warren Woods, Michigan. Ecology, 1234-1253.
It does so by maintaining greater than 30 per cent of the natural proportion of old growth forest ecosystems within each biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification variant (Province of British Columbia and Council of the Haida Nation, 2007). This specific objective is vital for wildlife management, even moreso than the reduction of the annual allowable harvest to 800, 000 cubic metres, which is approximately half of the previous allowable cut level (Takeda & Ropke, 2010). This is because, this specific objective pertains to old-growth forest, and according to local Haida educator Gerry Morigeau (2016), knowing the type of habitat to protect for a species is more important than the amount. The brooski subspecies of the Northern Saw-whet Owls is globally restricted to Haida Gwaii, but were designated as threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in 2006 with one of their largest threats being the decline in older forest abundance (COSEWIC, 2006). This is because they rely on old-growth forests for nesting habitat and for potential feeding habitats, it is ideal because old-growth forests are generally structurally complex and also have a high relative abundance of nesting snags (Northern Saw-whet Owl Recovery Team, 2009). Similarly, Northern Goshawks, another species of management
Though Washington’s coastal towns offered much to its citizens, it was the logging industry that started it all. In this paper, I will discuss the growth of the logging industry, specifically in relation to Seattle, and the resulting extension industries in the development of what is now our nations largest port city.
direction, the major problem for their decline would have to be remedied – loss. of the habitat of the sailor. This fact combined with the owls' short life expectancy and late age. breeding only exacerbates the problem. When loggers remove old growth owl loses habitat for its food, housing, as well as protection from predators.
John's position regarding the propriety of logging in old growth forests doesn't just affect owls, of course; it also affects loggers like Mary. Mary, like John, must come to grips with the issues raised by the destruction of old growth forests.
Two cases that can be seen through both viewpoints include the Spotted Owl Case and the Love Canal Case. In the case of the Spotted Owls, logging was destroying the habitats of the Spotted Owl on the West Coast. A struggle between environmentalists and the
John Muir once said, “Where one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” His understanding of the connection of nature to the world would be helpful regarding today’s ethical issue of clearcutting happening in Tongass National Forest. Firstly, this practice involves completely clearing an area of trees, regardless of the shape and usability. Then, the remaining scrub and brush are just burned off which leaves smoky haze for several days. Tongues Nation Forest is considered the “crown jewel” of America’s forest because it is the home to 800 years old trees, black and brown bears, wolves, bald eagles, Sitka black-tailed deer, moose, humpback, whales, orcas, sea otters, Steller sea lions. However, Sealaska, the largest private land owner in the Southeast Alaska wants to invade the forest through clear cut logging.Clearcutting or clearfelling can have serious environmental impacts. Abrupt removal of shady shield trees will
In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,
The history of logging goes back to the vast ponderosa pine forests of the southern Colorado Plateau in the 1870’s and 1880’s with the harvest of railroad ties and other products for construction of the transcontinental railroad. At first, the companies only wanted the big, high-grade ponderosa pine trees. They soon realized that the big trees run out and are hard to transport. In the 1920’s, new technology including chainsaws, bulldozers, and logging trucks allowed the logging companies to harvest at a much greater rate. By the depression, there were m...
The Pacific Northwest is the home to several different species such as: rats, mice, beavers, opossums, bears and more. These animals inhabit this place as means for their living, finding food, and survival. The Pacific Northwest is composed of the western United States portion which is composed of: California, Canada, Oregon and various other states. Much of this region is composed of various plants and seedlings, which most of these animals feed off of. The animal I will focus on primarily is the mountain beaver. I will discuss their identification, range, habitat, food habits, reproduction, behavior, and how to prevent the damage that these rodents cause us humans.
The native woodlands that once covered the Mount Lofty Ranges landscape has been reduced to about one-tenth of their former extent. This loss of habitat is currently affecting our woodland. A total population size of five-hundred is more than likely to become extinct. twenty more species will eventually disappear about one hundred and twenty almost fifty would eventually become extinct in the Mount Lofty Ranges. This dramatic loss of habitat has devastating implications for many native birds that depends on it for survival of those still found.
Prior to the Age of Exploration, hardwood trees blanketed all of Europe to form a forest giOB47;comparable in size to the Amazon Basin” (David Morse). Forest density was intense, such that “scattered clearings must have appeared like islets in an ocean of green” (Morse).
* Daily, Gretchen C., ed. Nature’s Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1997.
Thomson, Steve. "Saving B.C's Forests through the Trees." The Filipino Post 12-18 July 2012: 12. Print.
A forest is defined by Botkin & Keller (2011) as a major kind of landscape that is normally grown over certain amounts of years and then harvested, forest products are mostly subjected to vigorous commercialization. Forests are also known for their important contribution to biological conservation. Forests have been an integral part of people and civilization from the very earliest centuries for their major product which his wood. Wood began to be viewed as an important building resource at the start of civilization. This was because wood was always easily and readily available and accessible. With wood, people built their houses, boats and even used it for heating up their homes. Amongst many reasons why people value the importance of forests,