Mosaic Forest Management is tentatively considering logging some of their Cortes Island holding after the wildfire season ends this year.
The forestry giant laid out their draft three-year plan during a ZOOM call on Thursday night. A company spokesperson emphasized the idea this is very much a draft plan and they want to hear back from Cortes residents.
Continue reading Mosaic hopes to start logging on Cortes this fallThe complexities inherent in a healthy forest ecosystem and the variety of approaches that can be used to manage forests make it appear very challenging to choose a management approach that might achieve health and long term sustainability in our forests.
However, the fundamental requirement for any ecosystem, large or small, complex or simple, to restore functioning and remain healthy over time comes down to nutrients.
Continue reading Indicators in Nature as a guide for achieving sustainability in our forestsCKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca
For Cortes Islanders relying on local cutters to bring them enough firewood to warm their homes each winter, there has recently been a greater feeling of firewood scarcity. Everyone knows someone desperate for firewood, and there have been community notices on the local Tideline website asking if anyone is selling dry firewood.
Continue reading Lack of consistently available supply and not enough people to cut it drives firewood shortage on Cortes IslandIn the second of two broadcasts about more sustainable forestry practices, one of the founders of the Cortes Community Fortes Co-operative talks about the industry’s diminishing harvests in terms that every gardener understands. (Click here to access part 1)
“Back in the 1970s the justification for logging all the old growth was that the Province was going to be tree farming, to give the public the idea that you’re actually going to be sustainably growing crops off of that landscape each year,” said Ellingsen.
Every farmer knows that they need to replace the nutrients that they are taking out of the soil, or “pretty soon it will not grow a crop successfully any longer.”
Continue reading Conclusion of interview with Bruce Ellingsen: Vancouver Island’s diminishing Tree HarvestsIn respect to British Columbia’s old growth trees, “Most of what is left is in the difficult-to-access areas and the not so productive sites. Most of the best and easy to get is gone” – Bruce Ellingsen, one of the founders of the Cortes Community Forest Co-operative.
In the first of two articles about current forestry practices, Ellingsen looks to dynamics in nature for indicators toward a more sustainable harvesting rate.
Continue reading Interview with Bruce Ellingsen p1: What is a sustainable rate of consumption for forestry?
