"Stewardship
forestry" is the art and science of managing forests to
provide the full range of goods and services that society has
come to expect from them. These include wood products, of course.
But they also include fish and wildlife habitat, watershed functions,
biodiversity, scenery and recreation, and a variety of non-wood
commercial products, such as mushrooms and other edibles, medicinals
and decoratives. The sequestration of carbon to mitigate carbon
dioxide emissions is increasingly seen as another important service
provided by forests.
Stewardship
forestry helps maintain and improve habitat for threatened
species like the northern spotted owl.
The best
forests for providing this range of goods and services are those
with a diverse natural structure of native species, different-aged
trees, standing snags, down wood, and complex ecological processes
-- in short, many of the characteristics we associate with older
forests. Stewardship forestry employs management and harvest
techniques that foster these qualities.
Today, many
once-natural forests have been turned into simplified tree
plantations subject to frequent harvest. Other forests are
being set aside altogether and are not being managed at all.
Fortunately, owners of private forestlands don’t have
to choose between these two extremes. Most don’t wish
to do the former and can't afford to do the latter.
Stewardship
forestry cultivates a suite of forest products, including
mushrooms and other forest edibles.
Harvest
regimes that encourage mixed-age forest stands and natural
diversity are a cornerstone of stewardship forestry.
As illustrated
in Stewardship Forestry
at Work,increasing numbers of forestland owners are
conserving the ecology and esthetics of their woodlands while
still harvesting trees at a profit.They use selective
harvest methods that leave enough old trees, snags and other "structure" in
place for the natural ecosystem to prosper.
In the words
of Dr. Jerry Franklin, professor of ecosystem science at the
University of Washington:
"Approaches that are most likely to succeed are those that
provide for better integration of environmental and economic
objectives and more diversified and environmentally positive
markets, and that incorporate the newest and most complete information
on forest ecosystems and how they work."
A
Comparison of Stewardship vs. Conventional Forestry
