Show Fighting Fables in Forests Use Many popular misconceptions concerning concern ing fag the use use use-or or misuse misuse of of the nations nation's forests by timberland owners such as large timber Umber companies are repeated again and again in news and editorial columns of the press A FEW pf these misconceptions or mis nits misstatements statements were quoted and answered categorically by the American Forest Institute In In- For example in reply to the statement that US U.S. forests are now being cut faster than they are being replanted the Institute points out In the last 15 years we harvested billion cubic feet of or timer in the US U.S. Growth amounted to billion cubic feet We are growing growing grow grow- ing about nine cubic feet for every eight cubic feet we harvest Another nother popular bit of misinformation is that the Ute timber industry has its own privately-held privately woodlands and thus keeps the pressure on the federal government in increase commercial sales of national forest timber THE FACTS are that today the average average growth on owned industry-owned forest land is 52 cubic feet per acre per year Comparable publicly-owned publicly land produces produces produces pro pro- duces only 27 cubic feet per acre per year Another popular fable is the charge that cutting clear-cutting is an environmental atrocity The fact is that as the timber industry points out cutting clear-cutting in one form or another under certain circumstances circumstances circumstances circum circum- stances is accomplished either by man manor manor manor or nature to achieve a desirable end Nature does it by wind or fire set by lightening MAN CUTS CLEAR a mature stand of timber for a variety of reasons reasons old old age disease insects etc His llis cutting clear-cutting is far smaller than natures nature's and the harvested harvested harvested har har- vested trees are useful to man Also Aso timber companies cut clear-cut to make way for a new forest that could not otherwise grow These are answers to only a few of the forest land fables that have threatened threat threat- cat cat- ened intelligent management of the nations nations nation's nations nation's na na- tion's timber resources |