Seeing is Believing: The positives of cutting a forest and setting back succession!

In the Summer of 2001 I came home, after a weeklong vacation with my family, to find that my favorite deer woods, a 12 acre patch of mixed hardwoods and natural pine, had been clear-cut, leaving a big gaping hole in my plans for the soon approaching season. At that point in life I didn’t fully understand that change happens with or without you. As such, I had to learn to adapt and grow as a hunter, or give up hunting altogether.

Back then, it’s safe to say I had severe reservations and anxiety in regards to the cutting of a forest.  The biggest reasons for which were a lack of education and first hand experience with the many positives associated with it.  Besides the obvious of a landowner making money there are the not so obvious benefits that most just don’t see because they don’t care to look for it.  The economic impacts of the forest resource economy are much more far reaching than just a landowner making money.  In fact, according to the North Carolina Forest Service, the wood products industry is the largest in the state, generating over 180,000 jobs and stimulating our economy to the tune of $24 billion dollars!  In a nutshell our state would be in serious trouble without the multi-faceted business that is forest management.

My own personal skepticism in regards to hunting a clear-cut lasted all of about three months, that is until I was able to finally see firsthand the action that can happen in and around one when it comes to deer and other wildlife – I bagged my first “cut-over” buck less than 30 minutes after hitting my stand as he dogged a hot doe back and forth across the open expanse of young, woody regeneration.  But, even if hunting isn’t a main focal point of a timber management plan, a forest and the wildlife that call it home still benefit substantially from systematic harvest and the purposeful set-back of succession, whether you see them, hunt them, or not.

Two of the main benefits of a timber harvest operation in regards to wildlife are – The creation of a distinct “Edge” habitat, especially on clear-cut areas, and the set-back of succession – a forest starting anew.  As a hunter with a mindset to manage, the importance of edge habitat and various stages of ecological succession working congruently can’t be overstated.  In fact, it’s hard for me to imagine any kind of wildlife management plan that doesn’t include a significant amount of both in various forms and degrees.  Food, water, and cover are what make a property habitable for wildlife.  Edge habitat is what makes a wildlife population manageable.  And, let’s be clear, natural edge habitat is one thing, but equally and perhaps more important, is man-made edge introduced by logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes as well as for the introduction of supplemental food sources, i.e. – wildlife food plots.  These management practices are head and shoulders above the “do nothing” or “hands-off” approach.  They help to diversify an ecosystem thereby permitting each individual species a more realistic chance at reaching maximum genetic potential.

Consequently, that same 12 acre clear-cut that made my jaw hit the floor upon first seeing it, also gave me the opportunity to create my first food plot, which in turn has helped to keep my jaw dropping to this day.  The memories created in and around that 12 acre parcel of land and my first plot have been enough to last a lifetime.  Logging is a dirty, oily, dusty, muddy, and hard profession that is often looked upon with disgust.  Yet, that same profession and everything that is purposeful, well-planned timber management helped make a believer out of me.  The positives of cutting a forest and setting back succession can not only be measured by the favorable impacts it has on the overall ecosystem and the variety of species that benefit from it, but also by the memories created in its wake – Seeing is Believing.