i

Algonquin

Ontario

An exchange program ‘between
Northwest Community College’s
Hazelton forestry campus ‘and Sir
Sanford Fleming College’s Lind-
say, Ont., forestry campus a few
wecks ago provided an opportunity
for the Terrace Review to get a
fresh slant on forestry related
issues. When forestry instructors
at Sir Sanford found they had
funding for an exchange program,
it didn’t take them long to decide
on northwestern B.C. as their
destinatation. Two of the the Haz-
elton instructors, John Clement and

. and Len Vanderstar, taught forestry

at Sir Sanford last year, and accor-
ding to Clement there’s a high
demand for Forest Technologists in
our area. Some of their third year
Students just might find work here.

What was more interesting was

_ John Clement’s view of our for-

estry world. Prior to accepting the
instructor’s job in Hazelton, Clem-
ent had visited B.C. on three sep-
arate occasions but had never seen
& logging operation here. His first
reaction when he did: "They were
clear-cutting everywhere." Clement

says he was aware of the fact that

our preferred silviculture system is

_ clear-cutting, site preparation and
planting, but he wasn’t fully pre-

pared | for the the extent of our clear
cuts.

In Ontario, B.C. students would
dis¢over things like "selection" and
"shelter wood" and these are
methods Clement. believes will

help them when they begin work-

- ing in the forest industry. "Select-

ion", is an Ontario silviculture
method where specific trees are
selected for cutting while the resid-
ual forest is left, and "shelter

_ wood" refers to a percentage of a

logging site left standing to shelter
new growth. The shelter wood is
then logged a few years later.
Other tours in Ontario would
include one through a recyling
pulp and paper mill in Toronto and
a meeting and tour with the
Forest Authority.
Algonquin Park is a high-use rec-
reational area that co-exists with
the logging industry under the
management of the Forest Authori-
ty. Combine these tours with the
teachings of ex-Sir Sanford inst-
ructors, says Clement, and "I can
see some changes happening in the
future of B.C."

Clear cutting is acceptable in
some cases, Clement explains, but
‘not ag an overall silviculture pres-
cription. In the future, therefore,
it’s not going to be a simple matter
of clear cutting or not cutting at
all... there are going to be more
“site specific" silviculture methods
introduced. .

- About this point, some people
may be waving flags of caution.
"Site specific" silviculture? Yes.
This statement reinforces those
who believe we should even go so
far as to establish our own univer-
sity campus and research center
right. within our region. But
instructors, workers,

Getting a fresh slant on
forestry -- from Ontario

worse than accepting “graduates

from the southern B.C.?

Clement agrees that forestry
officials should receive at least a
part of their training in the region
they propose to work, but not
necessarily all of it. In the first
place, a tree is a tree. It doesn’t

really matter if i1’s a coconut palm.

or a spruce. Both take nutrients

‘from the soil and process those

nutrients with photosynthesis. "I
think in any forest ecosystem there
are certain factors that remain the
same across the planet," Clement
explains.

Beyond the basics, though, there

‘is a need to specialize. In the

northwest, says Clement for
example, people can spend their

-entire lives in the forests here and

never learn all there is to know,
"I’ve been: on information over--
load since I’ve been here," he says.

Clement was asked to elaborate.
"I’m still fascinated by the moods
of the forest and the effect of the
the mountains on the forest ecos-
ystem. The mist and the weather
and the trees and their inter-rela-
tionships... It’s very intriguing."
Intriguing to the point, says Clem-

ent, that he invented a word of his -

own to describe our northwest
forests - "uniquity". Based on the
words antiquity and uniqueness, he
explains, uniquity simply describes
a forest with an "age-old unique-
ness".

Ané this is why, he says, training
in this area is so necessary. "It’s
this inter-relationship amongst the
other variables such as the mount-
ains, the topography, the weather
and the soils. It’s quite complex
and that certainly merits that a lot
of study go into this ecosystem."
And his conclusion: "One of those
avenues would be to set up a uni-
versity in this area."

Professionals in this area seem to
agree; training in the northwest has
been needed for years. But for
years, we've been employing
people trained at U.B.C. or institu-
tions in Ontario or New Brunsw-
ick, Why? As explained by Cleme-
nt, it’s a matter of economics.

The resource-based economy in
B.C. is cyclical. The demand for
trained professionals in the forest
industry, for example, rises and
falls with world markets. The most
recent economic down-swing came

in the early part of the 1980’s and.

the effect has been felt since that
time. "In the last five or six years
it’s been very tough to get any
type of permanent position, and
once this happens word gets out
and enrollment (in forestry prog-
rams) goes down,” Clement
explains. "This has left a real
shortage of people coming out of
forestry schools, so all of a sudden
there’s a real need for forestry
people here."

It seems, then, that what Clement
is telling us is that we have to
establish professional
training here in the northwest and
at the same time find a way to

stabilize the forest industry so job:

forestry .

by
Tod
Strachan —

opportunities are more constant. |

There may be several approaches
here, but the one suggested by
Clement would require us to
change our thinking in how we
train our people and how we man-
age our forests,

"What I would like to see in this
area is a sort of European
approach to forest education," says

Clement. "Students would first of §

all take a two-year technology
program, get two years experience
in the actual forest based on that
training, and then go back and get
a degree, They would have a much
better education right from a "bush
sense’ all the way up.” The end
result would be that our forests
would be managed by trained
forestry professionals, not by
people trained in economics or
business managers.

This, however, only involves our
resource managers. Other workers
in the forest -- fallers, buckers and
skidders -- also need specific train-
ing. These workers need to be able
to understand more than just their
own job. They should be able to

“understand what the planners and

Managers are talking about and

also be familiar with alternate

methods of harvesting.

"The whole key to managing a,

forest is simply to.try and copy

what nature docs; and then develop |:

your management strategies based
on that principle," Ciement says.
"We should try to work with the
ecosystem... not against it."

The problems in our forest indus-

try are complex, however, and real |

afiswers are not going to come
easy.
industry. We need to train people
here and keep them here. If it
lakes a lifetime commitment to
understand our ecosystem, how
can it be achieved if our pro-
fessional people are moving on to
greener pastures every few years?
In order to keep people here we
need a reliable resource so peopie
will know they will bave the same
job next month as they did last
month. And a reliable resource can
only be achieved if we find better

-Management tools. So where do

we start?

Even the exchange- students
themselves aren’t sure; and they’re
the people who will soon be man-
aging the resource, Ontario also
likes to clear cut. There are some
clear cuts so large "you can see
the curvature of the earth", says
Ontario forestry student Eric
Anderson. By comparison, B.C.
clear cuts aren’t really that large.
The species of trees are similar
here but the trees themselves are
much larger here. Can they be
managed in the same way?

We have timber licences and a |.

tenure system that Anderson says
he finds "confusing" but there are
similarities.

There are management systems
here that Anderson says might help
Ontario. "1 think things are actual-
ly managed better in B.C. --
believe it or not," says Anderson.

methods and ideas? Isn’t this even

We need a stable forest .

Terrace Review — Wednesday, March 28, 1990 Ad.

AMY JARSMA: Not necessarily
wrong, but could be better.

ERIC ANDERSON: If you want
to see great, go to Europe.

But even though he thinks we
might be doing a better job of
management, he doesn’t really
think we're doing a. great job
either. According to Anderson, “If
you want to see great... go to
Europe. There the land is privately
owned, and that’s the difference.
They have to take care of their
land. If they don’t, they’re out of
business."

As far as Anderson’s prescription
for B.C. is concerned: "The trees
are rotten, decadent... Why not get
what you can and start over again.”

Hazelton student Amy Jarsma
isn’t sure about Anderson's com-
parison of Ontario and B.C.,
though. “We have problems with

Mar. 21-Apr. 19

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May 21-June20
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CANCER

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Matters of importance come up which could pose
@ threat to your standing in the community. Re-
spond to thechallenge.

Difficulties relating to transportation are likely.
Mail orders may be delayed or mislayed. Send a

Focus attention on benefits gained in useful ser-
vice. Be mindful of how assuring it is to be finan-

The new trend of affairs is likely to bring about a
change in reputation or prestige. Shift with the

Take care that you don’t fall into thinking you
are quite superior to those you are working with.

.Contact with those in the higher echelons is a
vitalizing factor and you are capable of outstand-

The basic foundation of your life is undergoing
- change and adjustment, making you feel restless,
andalittleirritable,

Short trips in the community can be just as haz-
ardows as along journey. Fastenseat belts.

The financial picture brings limitation. Be sys-

tematic in meeting expenses and look fora wind-
fall from an unexpected source.

Thereflection you find in the faces of friends and
. Acquaintances should make you feel good about

Mental interests take a new direction, New centers
of the brain are activated. Look for greater
freedom from limiting factors,

The ever-changing social and profession picture

causes you to meet people of considerable im-
portanceto your future.

slopes... they don’t have as much
erosion as we do. We’re logging .
mountains and they’re logging
flats.” If Ontario silviculture ideas
aren’t transferable then, how are
we doing with our own methods in

‘BC? "They’re not necessarly

wrong," says Jarsma. "But it could
be better.”

So where do we start? If we can
do things better, what do we
change? As always, everything and
everyone seems to be pointing to
Europe, but we’re still doing things
pretty much the same way now as
we have been for years. Will we
ever change? And what’s going to
happen if we don’t?

fh - | 403 Park Ave, ‘Terrace cro from the er

. eased