I agree with Mr. Confer and Mr. Pelkie. Though it may look a bit
shocking to see the immediate aftermath of cutting, inspections every few
months especially in the following spring will show how Nature rebounds
with benefits for wildlife.
A note on cutting the red pines; these were planted in the '30's by
the CCC on grids in old pastures. These trees have limited commercial value
and without thinning don't seem to gain much size. I am not even sure they
are native to our woods.
On Mon, Aug 21, 2017 at 7:44 AM Chris R. Pelkie <chris.pel...@cornell.edu>
wrote:
> I recently read this thesis:
>
> https://books.google.com/books/about/Factors_Affecting_Avian_Diversity_in_a_N.html?id=xnVPAAAAYAAJ
> produced by Tom Litwin in 1986, discussing the changes in Sapsucker Woods
> in both avian type and foliage type, over the hundred years up to that time.
>
> Amazing that grazing, lumbering, and fire have all passed through SSW
> prior to its ‘sanctuary’ days.
> The charted changes in nesters (Canada Warblers were once frequent!) is
> very informative.
>
> My only point here is that Tom says early on something to the affect that
> there is a difference between ‘conservation’ and ‘preservation’ and that
> distinction had never hit home before so clearly.
> Not to bend the Latin (and PIE) roots too far, but ‘con’ (from Latin ‘cum’
> with or together) and ‘serve’ (‘ser’ protect) is not the same as ‘pre’
> (beforehand) and ‘serve’.
> Protecting together, as John C eloquently described, is not the same
> business as protecting the same static thing forever.
>
> I finally grasped why the south side of the SSW is so barren of lower tier
> breeders, after looking at Litwin’s historic maps of the woods.
> Frankly, I prefer the north and east for diversity; the south high closed
> canopy has its interesting but quite different residents (thrushes,
> tanagers, barred owl, pileated et al., high canopy warblers in migration,
> and ovenbirds to give one forest floor denizen his due.)
>
> The occasional cutting, as horrifying as it seems, breathes and welcomes
> new life into the tired old forest, when done intelligently and in
> moderation.
> I would like to think that keeping an eye on the DEC efforts is worthy,
> but that DEC is not rapacious in intent.
>
> ChrisP
> ______________________
>
> Chris Pelkie
> Information/Data Manager; IT Support
> Bioacoustics Research Program
> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
> 159 Sapsucker Woods Road
> Ithaca, NY 14850
> http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp/
>
> On Aug 18, 2017, at 13:07, John Confer <con...@ithaca.edu> wrote:
>
> HI Dave,
>
> It still surprises me that even among environmentalists, biodiversity
> is still a matter of contention. There are ecological reasons to support
> biodiversity, often thought to enhance the mega goal of biostability.
>
>
> --
> *Cayugabirds-L List Info:*
> Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME>
> Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES>
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm>
> *Archives:*
> The Mail Archive
> <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html>
> Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds>
> BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html>
> *Please submit your observations to eBird
> <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!*
> --
>
--
Tobias Dean, Furnituremaker
124 Yaple Rd.
Ithaca NY 14850
t...@tobiasdean.com
http://www.tobiasdean.com
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
