|

a ee

Be Eel i eee ST a

This week:

Defining —

integrated
_ management

In this final segment of our
review of the management and
ecology of our forests, we have
two areas left to consider before
moving on to a new forestry topic.
We've already taken a second look
at the upper reaches of our typical
valley; this week we'll look at
lowland areas and wilderness
teserves.

In the lowlands, on the valley
floor, we find the most productive
land that we have. These fertile
regions came into being first as
gravel bars formed by rivers. Over
a period of many years these
gravel bars collected soils originat-
ing from the upper slopes. These
annual soil deposits were often
threatened by spring floods, how-
ever, and nature had to come up
with a unique form of plant life to
prevent these regions from being
washed out to sea, This came in
the form of the cottonwood tree.

The cottonwood has a very
special function in nature; it can
most easily be described as a
"water pump". Cottonwoods love
water and a three-foot diameter
tree can "pump" as much as 5,000
gallons of water on a sunny day
with a light breeze. Through a
process called evaporatranspiration,
the water is sucked from the near-

by river and expelled through the
cottonwood leaves. This process
lowers water levels substantially
during spring runoff and saves the
flood plain from destruction.

But this process does more than
just move a lot of water. Under the
protecting branches of the

_cottonwood a new forest grows in

an ideal habitat. Some of the water
evaporates to fall as rain on distant
hills but much of it circulates

along, but before we do this we
have to be very aware of nature’s
ways and needs.

As far as forest management is
concerned, the cottonwood offers a
few complications. Cut down too
many cottonwood and the water
level rises; you’ve re-introduced
the flood plain and valuable soil is
lost. Leave too many cottonwood

"Integrated management”, doing everything i in
the same spot at the same time, is a
misunderstood and misused term.

under the canopy of the
cottonwood plantation. This pro-
vides a cool, humid environment
where many species of plant life
can flourish.

First growth offers species like
thimbleberry, red osier dogwood
(red willow), devil’s club and, in
cool shaded places, ferns. As these
plants grow and die they help
build up the soil level of our flood
plain and this is good — spruce
and cedar begin to take root — but
with all the competition from
brush, growth is slow. Natural
regeneration could take as long as
300 years. Man’s intervention here,
then, can obviously help nature

and almost everything imaginable
grows, slowing the natural regener-
ation of a new forest.

IE we're careful when we log
these areas we won't harm the
habitat, but that doesn’t solve the
regeneration problem. Somehow
we need to give a new generation
of coniferous trees a head start.
We can do this by replanting im-
mediately after harvest with a mix
of hemlock, spruce and cedar that
are at least two years old. Some
soil preparation is required first,
though. This might mean broadcast
burning to remove excess. slash
and retard brush encroachment.
Mechanical methods here are

Contributed by
Mary Ann Burdett

The Riverboat Days Society
salutes the Gizeh Temple Shrine
Clowns Skeena Unit! Young or
old, we all love clowns and hap-
pily most of us are familiar with
the Shrine Clowns. But, were
you aware that we are fortunate

“enough to have a Shrine Clown

unit in our own area? The
Skeena Shrine Clown Unit was
formed in September '89 and is
made up of ten members from
the Terrae/Kitimat area. These
ten members have appeared in
parades, community functions
and anywhere they can make
youngsters smile for a total of
351 hours to date.

An extremely strict code of
conduct is adhered to by Shrine
Clowns and many of the
members of the Skeena Unit

~ have attended workshops and

Ri verboat |

seminars to enable them to be
“good clowns’. The Skeena
Clowns under the direction of
President, Rick Wintemute;
Secretary, Ron Burnett; and
Director of Entertainment, Jack
Terpstra have a busy schedule
ahead of them this year with
many events scheduled.

The Skeena Unit will perform
at any function where their
presence can be an asset as long
as they receive sufficient
notification to ready themselves.
Although no charge is made for
their appearance, donations are
gratefully accepted and such
donations go to the funding of

their 22 Childrens Hospitals, Or-.

thopedic and Burn Units. One of
the places we will be able to en-
joy this group is during the
August 2nd through 6th Terrace
Riverboat Days. There, they will
be participating in the parade, as

well as being involved in the
Childrens’ Festival portion of
that event.

These are very special people
doing a special job. While giving
us smiles and laughter with their
antics, they are giving of
themselves to the unfortunate
young folks who populate the
Shriners Hospitals. They work
hard and long as willing
volunteers, with their sole
thanks being the knowledge that
they have assisted in restoring a
child to health, and the pleasure
they bring the people they enter-
tain. The Riverboat Days Socie-
ty does indeed salute the Gizeh
Temple Shrine Clowns —
Skeena Unit. We are proud to
have them as a part of our com-
munity and look forward to see-
ing them during Riverboat Days

1990,

by Tod Strachan, in consultation with Rod Arnold and Doug Davies |

normally discouraged because they
expose and destroy natural min-
erals and elements and encourage
the growth of unwanted brush.

After two growing seasons, the
area requires a "Stocking Survival
Survey" in order to determine crop
success, or failure, and to deter-
mine if any further brush control is
required. If it is, there are two
options: mechanical removal or the
use of herbicides. The choice
depends on a variety of factors but
the important thing is that the most
appropriate method is carried out
as quickly as possible.

This process should be repeated
about every three to four years
until the trees are free growing.
Free growing means the trees have
gained the upper hand on sur-
rounding underbrush and the com-
petition for growing space ceases
to be a concern. This normally
takes about 25 to 30 years.

Under today’s government-
imposed management rules, free

growing means an end to the forest...

company’s management responsib-
ilities. But there is still a lot of
management needed. Until the end
of April, it was done by the prov-
ince under the Forest Resource
Development Program (FRDA).
This agreement expired at the end
of April, however, and a FRDA II
agreement still hasn’t been signed.

Our final consideration in the
past few weeks was the value of
wilderness reserves. Fairytale rain
forests with a carpet-like forest
floor and rays of sunlight cutting
through an umbrella of aging trees
hundreds of feet tall and centuries
old. This scene provides a close-
ness to nature that many say must
be preserved forever. But this
scene is an illusion. These age-old
trees, cherished by so many, aren’t
going to last forever. Saving them,
keeping the loggers out, doesn’t
mean our great-grandchildren will
share our experience.

These words might cause a few
to become a little indignant. There
are some who want to preserve
these natural wonders for all time
and they will do almost anything
to keep the “vandals” out. In fair-
ness, we must accept that ‘these are
well-meaning people with good
intentions, but if we look at the
forests around us we might ques-
tion their views. Are they tight in
their efforts to keep industry out?
Or are they perhaps trying to pre-
serve these forests for the sake of
preservation alone and harming our
economy while they do it?

Consider a few examples. The
Cathedral Grove forest reserve
near Nanaimo where tourists are
told of the wilderness experience

awaiting them. Closer to home

there are Furlong Bay, Radley
Park, Exchamsiks River and Prud-
homme Park to name a few. But
what’s really there? Untouched
wilderness? Not by a long shot.
Trees, hundreds of years old, have
been declared a hazard because the
wilderness-seeking public walk
among them, and unsound speci-
mens have either been topped,
limbed or removed. In reality,
what’s really there is new growth
and the dying stems of old trees.

This isn’t to say we can’t have
wilderness areas, But if we plan to
use them as fourist meccas year
after year, we may have to face
the facts and admit we can’t use
the same trail, or perhaps even the
same forest, until the end of time.
So before we start drawing lines
on a map we might want to ask
ourselves a few questions. What
are we preserving? What is a
"wilderness area"? It’s difficult to
define the term "wilderness" on a
global. scale.. because, it’s really
nothing more than -@ personal
vision, a perception governed by
the interests, viewpoint and back-
ground of each individual.

The problem, though, is that to
feel that closeness to nature we're
seeking, we have to go there. And
when we do, we leave behind
trails, campsites, outhouses, litter...
Where is the wilderness? Of
course, if we stayed out of these
areas entirely they would be a true
wilderness; but then where is the
value? Left alone, these forests
would grow, die and begin again;
but who would care? We wouldn’t
be permitted to witness their
beauty.

Perhaps, though, there is an
answer. A simple answer: manage-
ment, And in management, we
have only two choices: do some-
thing, or nothing at all. If we want
pure wilderness nothing is what we
must do. The Queen Charlottes are
a perfect example. These islands
offer a unique ecological system
that should be preserved. Pre-:
served, not for the large trees but.
because of the animal and plant
life that would disappear forever if
the ecology of these unglaciated
islands were destroyed.

In other areas, we might find the
best of both worlds if we manage
the forest wisely. This may mean
changing a few well-established
ideas, though. Imagine an areca
where loggers, campers, hunters,
hikers, trail bikers, and wildlife, all
have what they want. Not all on
the same piece of real estate at the
same time, of course, but coexist-
ing side by side, perhaps in the

— Continued on page A8