Mike,
I'm operating under the assumption that a lot of good can come out of the visioning process if: (1) the participants in the process get the full range of perspectives on our forests from competent sources, and (2) the committe avoids soliciting advice from or giving status to sources that have been part of the problem in the past . To do that would be a bad, bad idea, but I'll say no more on the point. BTW, for all who may read this email , let me say that I have always appreciated the fact that Mike Leonard and Joe Zorzin are hands- on, no nonsense foresters who mean what they say and say what they mean. Also, and very importantly, t he two of them have more than one focus when it comes to our forests.Naturally, t hey support good forest management, but they also support preservation. They clearly recognize that there is a need for both. It is a genuinely held belief, not one put forward to garner support from one side or another in hot debates. I have always been interested in t he opinions of foresters who have genuine forest ethics and field competence, whether they are private consultants, academic s, government foresters, or even working for the big timber companies. Although some of those who are familiar with my writings probably think of me as a strict preservationist. I have always believed that the best course for us with respect to how we treat our forests is to promote balance and advocate for ood forest management. This having been said, it is critically important to be able to recognize good forest management when one sees it regardless of one's profession. The trick is to be able to recognize good, long term management and distinguish it from high grading. One needs also to be able to recognize timber industry propaganda, especially as offered by the support structures that the timber industry has cultivated in government and academia. The latter is superficial, but sadly, in today's culture of the sound bite can be effective. I fear that the 'forest practices gullibility index' in Massachusetts is quite high these days. With respect to what is fresh in my mind, on my recently concluded trip, I was able to examine the results of several of the forest protection programs in eastern and mid-western states. M y main focus was to observe what is actually being done on the ground. I'm certainly i nterested in the planning stages to make things work - but in the end, it is what happens on the ground that counts . There has to be results and I saw results in a number of the states I visited . I just hope Massachusetts can catch up. Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Leonard" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: "Bill Logue" <[email protected]>, "Joseph Zorzin" <[email protected]>, "mandchurley" <[email protected]>, "Stephen Kaiser" <[email protected]>, "Mike Ryan" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 7:04:44 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [ENTS] Re: Presentation to the Committee Bob, You’re spot on with your proposed topics and the sequence which they should be discussed. The “Vision Process” came about after public outcry about the poor management of our state lands. However, this process would be unnecessary if we had a Stewardship Council consisting of real professionals in the natural resource fields. As you know, when the old DEM and MDC were combined by former Governor Romney to form the Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, a nine member Stewardship Council was created to oversee all of DCR’s operations in order to make it a “world class agency”. Part of the Stewardship Council’s duties is to review and approve Resource Management plans and Forest Management Plans for all our state forests and parks. However, not one of the nine members is a forester! They even admitted that they don’t even understand the plans! When Channel 5 had the big expose on the huge clearcuts at October Mt. and Savoy State Forests , the chair of the Stewardship Council Dick Cross was asked if it would make sense to have some foresters on the Council. Mr. Cross answered that would not be a good idea because he did not want to see the Council politicized!!! I don’t know what the hell he was talking about because the Council is already politicized with the latest appointments being an ATV enthusiast and another clueless “ enviro ”. So this Vision process would be totally unnecessary if we had a Stewardship Council consisting of real Natural Resource professionals. The makeup of this Council must be addressed or this “Vision” process is a sham. By keeping foresters off the Council not only have they destroyed any credibility they might have had but it’s just another humiliating and disgraceful way the state has marginalized my profession. Your idea about looking at what other states do is common sense. Why keep reinventing the wheel? By the way, I attended the last meeting of the Stewardship Council and blasted DCR a bit (see attachment) and Dick Cross asked me if I had sent my concerns to the “Vision Process” and I told him that is only for public land issues. See that’s another copout by Cross. It’s the duty of the Stewardship Council to address my concerns! Bill Logue promised me he would suggest another “Vision Process” for private forest land issues but replacing the Stewardship Council with real professionals would probably be far more productive. Mike Leonard, Consulting Forester www.northquabbinforestry.com Bill, I am aware that a number of my friends and associates have asked that I be allowed to make a presentation to the Technical Steering Committe of the Forest Futures Visioning Process to share with committee members specific knowledge and experience I have with Massachusetts forests. I would be most pleased to do that. If a presentation by me is desired, I would propose to discuss the following topics. 1. A criteria for identifying exceptional Massachusetts forest sites for recognition and protection. 2. A review of the administrative apparatus used by other states to identify, evaluate, nominate, select, and protect exceptional forest sites. 3. A review of exceptional forest sites in Massachusetts based on the criteria in #1 above. 4. A review of exceptional forest sites in other states and how they compare with sites in Massachusetts . I know that some of my friends had wanted me to serve on the Technical Steering Committee, but I elected not to make myself available for two primary reasons. The biggest one at the time was my health. I was experiencing serious problems and simply did not have the energy to devote to additional projects. I'm happy to report that the health issues are favorably settled for the time being. The other reason for not making myself available is that I can be better utilized in another capacity. I've alluded to that in previous emails. As the co-founder and Executive Director of the Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS), I have behind me an organization that has great research depth in areas that have not been developed in other organizations within Massachusetts - even the most prestigious academic and environmental ones. Given the erudite status of Massachusetts academic institutions, this is a bold assertion to make, but it can be backed up. Consequently, I believe that my time is best utilized for the greater good when I am working in the ENTS specialty areas. Others with good legal minds will do a far better job of figuring out how best to protect valued forest sites - once they know where the sites are and what makes them valuable. In addition, it is critically important to have sufficient information about each site to enable a prioritization of the sites. If choices must be made, let's make the right ones. But to be able to do this requires highly specialized knowledge that accrues as much from one's passions as professional status. In ENTS, there is no shortage of either. We understand how to evaluate forest sites in a comparative manner when comparisons becomes necessary. At the least, we need a system in Massachusetts as effective as what I observed in states like Indiana and Ohio - states that are largely agricultural. Scarcity of inspiring woodlands in those states served to motivate them to achieve a higher level of forest cognizance. They successfully combined historical, ecological, and aesthetic perspectives. As a result, they now recognize and protect forest sites of exceptional value through their implemented nature preserve programs. To establish a system of comparable efficacy in Massachusetts , we need input from people experienced at determining what makes forest sites sufficiently unique or special to justify protection. We need people who have not only thought through concepts of forest value along largely non-economic lines, but people who spend the bulk of their time in the field evaluating sites. Expertise in how to construct criteria for evaluating forest sites along non-economic lines is what ENTS specifically brings to the table in spades and that expertise can be made available to the Committee for the asking. As a final bit of information to illustrate my point, I have just returned from an extended trip to the Rocky Mountain West that includes a connection with the huge San Juan National Forest in colorful Colorado . We will likely hold a joint conference next year on western old growth forests: the science, management and restoration, and values. Participants will be ENTS and WNTS (Western Native Tree Society), the Forest Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and Fort Lewis College in Durango . I think I can state confidently that these last three organizations would not commit time to such a joint venture unless there was a clear value to each participant. I'd like to think that the basis for that value was established during my visit. I am ready to place the expertise of ENTS at the disposal of the Steering Committee toward the agenda outlined above. Bill, the ball is now in your court. Best wishes, Bob Leverett President, Friends of Mohawk Trail State Forest Cofounder and Executive Director, Eastern Native Tree Society Member, Western Native Tree Society --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
