Clearcutting the Pacific Coast, The Wealth of Forests, and Falldown
Clearcutting the Pacific Coast: Production, Science, & Regulation in the Douglas Fir Forests of Canada & the United States, 1880-1965; Richard A. Rajala, hardcover edition published June 1998 by UBC Press, $75.00 - paperback edition published April 1999, $27.95
The Wealth of Forests: Markets, Regulations, and Sustainable Forestry; Edited by Christopher Tollefson, hardcover edition published October 1998 by UBC Press, $85.00 - paperback edition published June 1999, $35.95
Falldown: Forest Policy in British Columbia; by Patricia Marchak, Scott Aycock and Deborah Herbert, published June 1999 by Ecotrust Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation, $25.00 (from Ecotrust)
Reviewed by Bill Henderson
Three recent diverse but complementary books explore the forest industry in B.C., how this industry developed, and the need to evolve to an ecologically sustainable forestry. Each book is critical of the presently configured industry, pointing out repeatedly that the forest industry degrades ecosystems, endangers communities, and robs individuals of both meaningful lifestyles and opportunity. This cumulative portrait of the industry does not inspire optimism. While there is an overwhelming forestry science and forestry history argument in favor of change to ecoforestry, the history of industry regulation, the reality of oligarchy, and society’s obsession with the material present predict business as usual. As Michael M’Gonigle astutely points out in one of his essays from The Wealth of Forests: “(E)xisting power determines acceptable knowledge”.
Richard Rajala is an historian who has quite obviously laboured hard in the middens of company and governmental records and correspondence in developing his history of Clearcutting the Pacific Rainforest (UBC Press). Mr. Rajala’s book is somewhat mistitled: his subject is an industry that, invoking Taylorism and mechanization, abuses industry workers, degrades forests, and runs roughshod over governmental regulation following the dictates of capitalism. His subject is the fir forests from Northern California to B.C., from the middle of the last century to almost present day. The clear-cutting - selection cutting controversy in Pacific North-West forests and a century of industry doublespeak are pertinent topics of Mr. Rajala’s digging and sifting.
The Wealth of Forests (UBC Press), edited by Chris Tollefson, is a selection of essays from a 1995 symposium which had the goal of innovative policy options for the protection of forest resources. There are four superb essays examining structural instruments, institutional reform, certification, and other approaches to eco-forestry from UVIC’s Eco-Research Chair trio of Michael M’Gonigle, Cheri Burda and Fred Gale, but the must-read highlight is an essay on sustained yield by Lois Dellert. A former Deputy Chief Forester of B.C., Ms. Dellert combines history and emerging systems science in a crushing condemnation of redesigning forests for timber sustainability. In only one of many memorable passages she uses C.S. “Buzz” Holling’s stability - resilience concept to show how management to simplify forests has led to ecological, social and economic rigidity - a lack of options and opportunity - the very opposite of the sustainability that sustained yield promoters Orchard and Sloan promised way back in the 1940’s.
Pat Marchak’s Falldown (Ecotrust/David Suzuki) is the one book today that should be mandatory reading for British Columbians. Wade Davis’ Foreword totally demolishes sustained yield - mindset and practice. Ms Marchak (aided by Scott Aycock and Deborah Herbert) then clearly and with comprehensive documentation describes the tenure system, government policies and industry devel-opment, and how liquidation forestry has affected employment, communities and future opportunity. Falldown looks at the differing options for tenure and policy change and emphatically recommends a change to ecoforestry.
Unfortunately, policy makers couldn’t care less about the sustainable forestry so clearly set out in Falldown or Wealth of Forests. Historical and scientific argument is not as important in forestry policy making as the present needs of capital.
