I’ve known a few loggers who were very good land stewards. Cliff Frazee would be the first that came to mind. While some loggers indeed do have the “cut and run” mentality, others have a long family history of managing a particular tract and do it in a responsible way, with concern for the future. I do agree that a certain degree of regulation is necessary however. While loggers, commercial fishermen, etc. may be more intimately familiar with the natural resource than the average citizen or even regulator, they still have their own best interests at heart first and foremost. The agencies doing the regulating are doing a balancing act of regulating them for the public good, which always results in someone not being happy.
One thing I wanted to take note of was regarding the management of Atlantic White Cedar. Clear cutting has developed very negative connotations in the general environmental community, and is often given as an example of private industry gone wild. But clear cutting is the only sensible way to manage this particular species. White Cedar is an early successional tree species. New stands require full sunlight to develop. While hardwoods can be selectively cut, such logging in a cedar stand would result in the gaps being filled by maple, gum and magnolia. Ugly as it may be in the aftermath of the logging, clear cutting is the only way to perpetuate new stands. In the years after the logging, these sites will be the perfect habitat for orchids, carnivorous and other rare and interesting plants to grow. They require a habitat created by such a severe disturbance. Sorry for getting sidetracked. I just wanted to point out that ugly isn’t always bad!
