True. I was looking at population figures and predictions for the future and I'm fairly certain that the numbers were off on the low side and the prediction were that the births would decrease until 2040 where it would become neutral. That was when the old song popped into my head "You tell me your dream and I'll tell you mine". I can visualize how the census went in muslim areas on Mindanao. Knock, Knock! Who's there? I'm from the government! Die spy! Boom!
I'm absolutely NO expert on any of this, but I do want to share some observations or things I've noticed or learned from others. Some Native American tribes in the Great Plains areas DID set fire to smaller sections of prairie grassland. As I was made to understand this, small fires were intentionally set from time to time when the grasses and plant life that the buffalo herds fed on appeared to be in a diminished state. The following years after these smaller fires were set and went out (whether intentionally set by the tribes or from lightening strikes), the vegetation began to renew itself and in a couple more years, became more dense than it was in those areas before these fires came about. This allowed the buffalo herds in that area to graze in closer proximity to the nomadic tribes in that area and make hunting buffalo (their major protein source) a faster and easier task for the tribes. Later on, when the Plains tribes were being relocated to reservation areas, the US Army DID intentionally set large fires across hugh tracts of prairie land in order to reduce good buffalo grazing land near tribal areas. Large fires were set and used as an incendiary incentive to force the tribal populations to relocate to these newly designated reservation areas. In my conversations with a couple of foresters in the Pacific Northwest, I was made to understand that a new trend seems to be the replanting of forests with different species of trees being planted in closer proximity to one another. In other words, there seems to be a greater desire to move away from mono-replanting of hugh tracts of only one single species of trees towards a replanting with smaller tracts of single speceies and planting different species of trees closer together. The thought behind this is that there seems to be a heartier forest near the borders than elsewhere. Again, I am not a learned person in this, but simply reporting what my conversations were with these two fellows who have been in the foresty business all their working lifetimes. The one fellow I spoke with has a Masters Degree in Forestry Economics (didn't know you could even get a degree in this). In Oregon, we do have some "Old Growth" timberland under protected status. I direct you to this website for further information. Associated Oregon Loggers: Forest | Facts | Common Questions Finally, a few observations of mine. I noticed when I was a kid how big the timber industry is in Oregon. It's BIG business. What I found ironic when as an adult, I visited the Oregon History Museum, and discovered some of the big "Timber Barons" in Oregon actually came from Europe and from the Eastern US, and clear cut our forests. This, in spite of the fact that they knew better and knew about reforesting as this reforestation process was and had been done in Europe and in the Eastern US for quite some time prior to the clear cutting of our forests in Oregon. I guess the reforestation piece was forgotten to be done as no one really said it HAD to be done. So Oregon had to eventually initiate replanting laws so as to regenerate this industry and protect our resources of the timberland -- for which there are many secondary, but very important resouces on these lands outside of the timber itself. There is a balance to be had here -- to be sure. Methinks Mother Nature is a wise woman and we have much to learn from her. V/R, nwlivewire
I agree about the forest being healthiest near the edges and clearings. I personally envisioned that it might be beneficial to harvest the forest in rows like crops to maximize surface exposed to open area. Occasionally one of the open spaces would be wider and provide a fire break with I suppose a few breaks going against the grain. If such were the case even the pitiful planes we have right now could easily contain forest fires. But no, we aren't going to do that. When I was 18 I did some carpentry work for a living and whenever I hear of a forest fire, I wonder how many homes could have been built with that wood. The price of wood and plywood is disgusting to me now and makes me glad I'm too lazy and screwed up (back) to want to build anything anymore.
