I grew up in the forest. I mean I really grew up in the forest. I lived right smack dab in the middle of the beautiful sweeping Siuslaw Nation Forest. My whole life up to this point has be a conglomeration of camping, hiking, fishing, generally enjoying the forest, and more recently being a wild land firefighter.
One of the earliest pictures of my family is in the redwood forest. My mom and brother are on either side of me, and I am in a bear box. If you don't know, a bear box is a medium sized metal box constructed to deter bears from getting your food. Anyway, I'm inside of the box. A small baby wrapped in blankets dwarfed by the towering trees overhead.
This is just one of the many memories that I, and my family, have of enjoying the forest. Having said this I think it is pretty easy to say the forests, and forestry have had a pretty significant impact on my life.
There is a small town about 15 miles from my old house. This is where the public school is, as well as a small store, and a mill. The school has a total of 65 students in grades seven through twelve. One of the reasons that the school is so small is because the town, Mapleton, is a logging town, and much of the mill production decreased due to the logging cut backs because of the spotted owl.
Mentioned in lecture briefly was the decline of logging do to the conservation of forest land as a direct repercussion of the decrease of spotted owl population. While growing up in an area directly affected by these conservation efforts I know firsthand just how logging and the economy go hand in hand.
Before the cut back on logging Mapleton High School was what is called a 3A school. This means that they had somewhere between 100 and 200 students in high school alone. After the cut backs many families had to relocate to different parts of the state to find work. As a result the school was smaller, the economy struggled, and three of the four mills shut down.
I'm not saying that all our problems would be solved if we started cutting down all of the forests, but I am saying that there is a happy medium. I have spent many hours in the woods cutting firewood, as well as talking to many loggers. I believe, but I may be incorrect, that timber is a crop, and should be treated as such. With the proper tactics a forest can pose as a lucrative timber source as well as provide key habitat for the wild life that call it home.
As a wild land firefighter I learned many things this summer. I learned that if a fire is endangering replanted timber you stop it. If that timber is burned then it is basically like burning money. I also learned that fires are good for the forest.
Many people see fire the same was they see logging. They see trees burning, and so in turn they see habitat disappearing. When we see this we are instantly filled with images of small, cute, fluffy animals feeing for their lives, and eventually perishing in the flames.
What people don't see is the new growth that is made because of the fire. They don't see the thinning of the trees, and the revitalization of the soil. It is the same with logging. Of course habitat is lost, but in turn jobs are made. Trees are replanted, and a small town like Mapleton is filled with busy people with money for homes.
I'm going to Oregon State to get my Forest Management degree. With this degree I hope to work for either the private sector, such as Roseburg, or for Oregon Department of Forestry. I hope to have an impact on the world, whether it is small or big, I don't care.
I fondly remember the times that I have spent in the forest enjoying all that it has to offer; but I also remember growing up in a depressed area due to the lack of logging info structure. I hope to help preserve the forests so others like me may enjoy them, but I also hope to educate people on proper logging and forestry practices. Maybe someday I can even work someplace where I can help others to abide by proper forestry practices so that small towns like Mapleton won't fall under the same fate.