4 - Friday, September 14, 1990 - North Shore News There’s a lot more to a tree than wood fibre IN 1945, at the age of 30, Merv Wilkensen walked through the old fir and cedar forest on the shore of Quenneil Lake, south of Nanaimo. He didn’t have a degree in for- estry, but he knew something about trees, and he felt that a family could make a living from the forest without destroying it. He imagined harvesting the growth of the forest indefinitely, growing old himself, and passing on a healthy forest to another generation. The forest he envisioned passing on would still be rich in old trees and young seedlings getting started, not a single-3pecies plan- tation, but a real forest, forever. Merv looked closely into the bark of an old Douglas fir tree. He could see the pinkish freshness deep in the folds, a sign that this old vet was still growing; some were dying and decaying. this issue of jobs is a big Rex Weyler THE GOOD EARTH for seed trees, and began his first cut at his calculated growth rate. He started conservatively. Careful thinning optimized the forest growth, and by his third cut, he was able to increase his cut rate with confidence that the forest red herring. Selection forestry creates more jobs because it is more labor intensive. 99 Carefully, over a variety of sites, Merv felled a smattering of old trees whose growth had stop- ped. He thinned out a few younger trees, all of various species and ages, and he began counting and measuring the growth rings. He counted the number of healthy trees per acre, and he sat down to do some figur- ing He determined that he had about a million and a half board- feet of standing timber on_ his land, and that it was growing at the rate of about 750-board-feet per acre per year. He calculated that if he made selection cuts about five years apart, he could, over 50 years, harvest the full million and a half board-feet, and that after the last cut he would still have a standing forest as rich and varied as the one he had now. He left the healthiest old growth was growing faster than he was harvesting it. When I visited Merv at his home this month he was 75 years old, nearing the completion of his original 50-year plan. To date he has taken 1.7 million board-feet from his land, and he still has a real forest, mixed with a diversity of species at a diversity of ages, the healthiest old seed vets still showering the fertile soil with future trees. But Merv, even at 75, is still learning. “When Chris Maser visited, he said my forest was too clean. I wasn’t leaving enough decaying matter on the ground, I think he’s right, so I’ve changed that. To do it right,‘‘ Merv explained, “you have to be willing to take a slight reduction in your first cut, lowgrading, taking out the disease, and thinning. The initial cost might be a little higher, but I've used my raod system nine times. You have to look at a forest road as a long term capital expense,"* Walking a typical clearcut site with Merv, he said, ‘This is far too large a clearcut. The soil has been badly disturbed. You've got a bad blowdown along the creck. You won't get much natural reseeding in here, and will have a high percentage of dead replants.’’ In an alder bottom that the company had planned to clearcut, Merv said, *‘Alder is suitable for some sites, and of course it fixes nitrogen in the soil. This could be thinned and you could start an understorey crop of conifers. This idea of turning everything into a fir plantation overlooks the unique features of each site. Where alder and cedar like to grow, let it grow. The alder can be cut later for the furniture mar- ket.” “The problem with these cut- and-run outfits is not a forestry problem, but an economic prob- lem. They’re setting their cut quotas not from knowledge of the forest, but to meet economic pro- jection and to yield profits from investments. This is why they can't practice sensible forestry. **And this issue of jobs is a big red herring. Selection forestry creates more jobs because it is more labor intensive. These com- panies will have us believe they have to work this way to save jobs, cut down the Carmanah to provide jobs. Boy! If you believe that, then you haven't really looked very closely at what’s go- ing on. While saying this, they’re creating bigger machines and big new mills so they can do the job with even /ess people. “I’ve got no time for these cor- porations who want to buy up local resources, pocket big ~voftis, and then skitter off to some other country. Money is king for these poople, and they don’t give a damn about your forests, now or in the future.”’ “‘There’s more to a tree than wood . fibre or lumber. It might not fit into corporate economics, but a tree has value even while standing. It is making a contribu- tion to the atmosphere and the soil. It is a habitat for fungi in the ground and birds in the canspy. You can’t always put a dollar value on these things.”’ FASHIONS LTD ae ‘SUMMER & STO _ (Sale, ends " Septeinber 30, 90) THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF NORTH VANCOUVER NOTICE OF COURT OF REVISION 1996 LIST OF ELECTORS NOTICE ts hereby given that a Court of Revision for the List of Electors wili pe held in the Council Chamber, City Hall, 147 West 14{n Street, North Vancouver, B.C.. on Monday, October 1, 1990, at 7:00 o.m. for the purpose of correcting and revisiig the List of Electors for the year 1990. The Court shall hear any application to strike out the name of any person which has been improperly placed thereon, or to place on the said list the name of any ferson improperly omitied therefrom. The list as prepared will be available for inspection on or after the 15th day of September, 1990. B.A. Hawkshaw City Clerk City Hall mB 141 West i4th Street m™ §=©6—North Vancouver, BC. HUMBERSTON EDWARDS fixe ant Presents LINDA WAGNER AN EXHIBITION AND SALE OF RECENT PAINTINGS SEPTEMBER 15-23, 1990 OPENING RECEPTION SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15 10:30 A.M. TO 5:00 P.M. ARTIST IN ATTENDANCE OPENING DAY 1360 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, B.C. V7T 1B6 Tel: (604) 922-7934 © Fax: (604) 922-0183 ALL PAINTINGS IN THIS EXHIBITION SUBJECT TO PRIOR SALE HOURS: TUESDAY-SATURDAY 10:30 TO 5:00 PM, SUNDAY 12 TO + PM BACKWARDS IN TIME Tri-mcly frame chromoly fork Suntour XCE Componentry Verta Gel Saddle 3 colours to choose from 1989 APOLLO SENSOR reg. $535 SALE $400.00 ALL 1989 MTBs at 1988 prices! ALL 1990 MTBs at reduced prices! — Find out about our Christmas fayaway plan — Also ... Girl’s 20” Lil Princess, reg. 3165.00 SALE $99.00 16’? Wheel Kid’s Kuwahara BMX reg. $135.00 SALE $99.00 DON’T MISS OUT ON YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO TRAVEL BACKWARDS IN TIME “¥ * Bicycle Service Co. 986-9477 213 East Ist Street, North Vancouver