Timber Cutting at Ed Banks

[Jeremy M]

I'm sure everyone that was at the Tot this weekend noticed all of the Timber being cut very close to the Border of the Natural Area. I called Stan at the park this morning and asked what was going on. Here is what he said.

When the park was purchased approximately 800 or so acres in the park had already been converted to Loblolly Pine. The State Park is in the process of converting these stands back to their original make up of mainly hardwoods. What is going on now is that they are thinning the stands out and preparing them for re-planting.

Sounds good to me.

Just thought this might be some nice info if any were curious about the cutting.

[Dale Dailey]

From the looks of the skid trails they were making, I am not sure that it wouldn't have been better off to leave them pines.

[Cowper]

Jeremy,

Thanks for checking, I was in fact very curious, because I was wondering why any cutting at all was going on within the park boundary.

Yeah, the skidder tracks looked rough, but as we drove by, I commented to one of the other boaters in the car at how much better the "selective cutting" looked as compared to an area that has been clear-cut. Now that I know how it fits into the long term plan for a more balanced set of species, I'm completely OK with it, as long as the park folks keep an eye on the work and insure that BMP's are applied to mitigate the short-term impacts like the skidder tracks we saw.

[hellbender]

Noticed that Wed. and liked the way they just thinned it out.Thought that they might be expanding that lone camping spot into many more.Thanks Jeremy

[Jim Krueger]

About three weekends ago we decided to make some a scenic drive through the Ouachita N.F. in the Winona district. Our usual track begins at Lake Sylvia over to Flatside Pinnacle then on West to Forked Mountain and Hwy.7 before turning South and then back East on the Winona Auto Tour route.
The first leg of this trip borders the North side of Flatside Wilderness where I was dismayed to see every bit of the several thousand acres Weyerhaeuser owns has been clear cut. For those touring over in this area, you will see this cleared strip is up to three miles wide in places and extends for almost fifteen miles in length... On the Western end, they have cleared right up to Forked Mountain itself.
I can only look forward to the new crop of trees to grow and re-cover the area.

Best Regards
Jim

[hellbender]

I was suprised by all that cutting too Jim.You should see it from the top of Forked...

[Lifejacket]

I understand the concern for to much logging, and the argument for different logging practices. But logging is a big industry in Arkansas and we keep losing jobs, in it because of all the timber coming from Canada. I have several family members employed in logging and clear-cutting is about the only way to make a good living anymore. Not trying to start anything.

[bryanpin]

it's unfortunate but many folks in logging and other industries are probably going to have to move into other things. our entire economy needs to re-leverage itself. I wish our big fat greedy government would help bring along new technologies and industries through better programs. for example, cut down on helping the oil companies and throw some money to wind farms, solar technology, alternative fuels, etc... the dwindling of other industries will force people out of work, so it would be nice to have healthy new sustainable industries to provide jobs for many folks.

isn't it obvious we're behind the curve and need to catch up?

[hellbender]

Amen

[tomcat]

but....what would replace timber/wood for the purposes it is used for? What "alternative" is out there that wouldn't have its own environmental drawbacks? Synthetic 2 x 4s sounds like alot of chemicals stuck together to make fake wood.

As much as I don't like the looks of clearcuts, are they any different than a soy bean or rice field? Just another crop....right?

[Trismegistus]

A healthy alternative renewable and sustainable energy resource? Wood!

Wood provides about 9000 Btu/lb and there are many newer alternative technologies for energy production from wood that we haven't even begun to fully realize. Arkansas with its heavily timbered coastal plains could be at the forefront given our long growing season, fertile soil and abundant sunshine.

Just another crop....right? Yes! And in my eye -- a tree farm is not only more attractive (aside from harvesting) but also far better on the environment than a rice or soybean farm that requires immense quantities of pesticides and herbicides, ground water depleting irrigation, erosion inducing yearly tilling and harvesting, etc.

[Half Ton]

You know, one time I heard about 1 acre of hemp producing as much pulp as 5 acres of pines.....only difference is hemp can do it in one growing season.

Too bad it's illegal. Just think about the other possibilities of the product as well. Could there be enough oil in the seeds to replace the amount of petro in plastics ?

Hemp can provide clothing, shelter, and so much more

Hmm....

[Lifejacket]

Several years ago when the big push for paper recycling went through, the effects were noticed on the price of pulp wood.

[JTarver]

Damnit..I had a nice long post and the inet connection dumped me.
Anyway..what it said was reuse and reclaim products.
Wood from older buildings being torn down or razed could be refurbished to be used on newer buildings. You can do the same thign with bricks...and reused concrete is huge in landscaping..everything from patios to walks to flowerbeds from a sidewalk , etc that has been torn down.

I agree we need to start with solar and wind power being used in larger fashion..but also reuse what we already have handy.
How many old buildings do you see every day that could be stripped and refurbished for use elsewhere.
Also, bamboo has become HUGE in the housing indistry building everything from bowls to blinds to floors. Its a much faster replenishable resource..and has hundreds of uses.

All it takes is some drive and effort. The profit may not be as large initially, but in the long run it will be. There would still be profit on the building end as well.

Joe

[Trismegistus]

Good points Joe. One of the things I hate about our culture is "planned obsolescence" -- having been personally involved in a number of construction/restoration endeavors I have come to the conclusion that none of our homes are built to last for more than a single generation. I have restored homes built at the turn of the 20th century and homes built in the last 20-30 years and from a pure foundational perspective I prefer working with older homes. Most of the particle board and sheetrock in use today is far too susceptible to water damage -- I've even had to tear out subfloors simply because a refrigerator has leaked, a cat has taken a piss or a sink has overrun. But take an old home with rough hewn timber and that stuff "seasons" with age becoming harder and more impervious to the wear and tear and water -- save for termites the stuff will last hundreds of years.

And you are right -- in most demolition jobs everything is thrown out -- I even had a couple of instances where perfectly good material -- even appliances -- were sent to the dump. Happy to say in a recently rehabilitation -- a 1800 square foot home totally gutted -- we were able to recycle and freecycle all but 4-5 large garbage cans of waste -- actually was able to use existing muncipal one garbage can per week service to get rid of our waste.