Managing for Old Forest Characteristics

We cannot create the old forests that once dominated the Northeast, but we can promote some of their characteristics through careful forest management. Join UVM professor Dr. Tony D’Amato and University of Massachusetts professor Paul Catanzaro to learn about when it is appropriate to do this kind of management, and how to plan for it.
This webinar originally aired on Zoom on June 15, 2022. Visit vlt.org/events to learn more about upcoming events.

[@JoeZorzin]

Nice that Tony and Paul have produced this video. It's important for all of us to develop SOME forests with old growth characteristics. But, what's truly rare in the forests of the American northeast- is focusing on the long term economic potential of forests to produce economic WEALTH for the forest owner and the rest of the regional economy because value produced "on the stump" has a huge multiplier effect to the regional economy. Unfortunately, most forestry schools no longer teach forestry economics, except superficially. When I was in forestry school at U. Mass. in the late '60s and early '70s I took a very intense course in forestry economics taught by the late Bob Bond. We studied how the wealth produced by a forest is dependent on how the forest is managed. We needed to study financial formulas and there are dozens of those. As a forester now with 50 years experience I find it mind boggling that forestry "leaders" now mostly talk about carbon and old growth and biodiversity as if they're ASHAMED of discussing how forests can produce economic wealth. I'll refrain from ranting further about this- but that's the mood I'm in when I see no appreciation of long term forestry economics by forestry "intellectuals".

[@JoeZorzin]

@@Daniel-bs8vb Notice I didn't say "everything"- in fact, if you read it very carefully, you'll notice I said what's RARE is forests that are managed for the long term economic values. It turns out, if done smartly, you'll also do well regarding enhancing biodiversity and even carbon storage and in particular the forest aesthetics. I can affirm that well managed forests look better, by and large, than most unmanaged forests that I've seen for half a century in western Massachusetts. And, I'll repeat, it seems to me that forestry "leaders" are almost ashamed to talk about economic values that forests can produce and to me, that means they are failing.