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The Misunderstood Forest

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The Misunderstood Forest The Misunderstood Forest Gene Namkoong Publication Copyright © 2005 by Carol Namkoong. This manuscipt has been prepared for free electronic distribution by the Forest Sciences Department, University of British Columbia, Canada. Cover Ilustration The cover illustration is one of those done by Richard Bentley for six Poems by Thomas Gray, published in London, 1753. The complete text is available in electronic format at “The Thomas Grey Archive, Edited by Alexander Huber, University of Oxford” (http://www.thomasgray.org/texts/diglib.shtml); © 2003, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. FOREWORD ..........................................................................................................................i PREFACE ................................................................................................................................v War in the Woods ......................................................................................................1 Protest in Clayoquot....................................................................................................................... 1 The Loggers..................................................................................................................................... 3 The Forest Crisis............................................................................................................................. 5 Foundations of Conflict ................................................................................................................ 8 Some Biological Principles ............................................................................................................ 9 Some Management Principles.....................................................................................................10 Conflicting Visions ....................................................................................................................... 10 Obstacles to Resolutions ............................................................................................................. 12 Globalizing the Conflict ................................................................................15 The Microcosm at Clayoquot Sound......................................................................................... 15 Global Issues ................................................................................................................................. 15 What is Being Lost ....................................................................................................................... 19 Intangible Losses .......................................................................................................................... 21 Solutions......................................................................................................................................... 22 The Unresolved Dichotomy .......................................................................................................24 The Global Forest Problem........................................................................................................ 26 A History of Conflict .........................................................................................29 Old Battlegrounds ....................................................................................................................... 29 The American Environmental Movement................................................................................ 30 The U.S. Forest Service and European Forestry ..................................................................... 33 Separate Camps............................................................................................................................. 35 The Philosophical Roots.............................................................................................................. 39 Emerson......................................................................................................................................... 40 Thoreau .......................................................................................................................................... 41 American Arts ............................................................................................................................... 42 Religious Movements.................................................................................................................. 46 Missionaries and the West........................................................................................................... 47 The Modern Forester................................................................................................................... 51 Forests in the Age of Empire ..........................................................................54 Forests in the New World Colonies .......................................................................................... 54 European Forests.......................................................................................................................... 56 The Romantic Reaction ............................................................................................................... 60 European Art and Philosophy....................................................................................................62 Enlightenment and America .......................................................................................................64 The Impact on Appalachia.......................................................................................................... 65 The Misunderstood Forest The Misunderstood European Roots ........................................................................................................69 Renaissance.................................................................................................................................... 69 Rome............................................................................................................................................... 75 Before Rome ................................................................................................................................. 78 Asian Forests................................................................................................................................. 83 Dichotomy and Perspective........................................................................................................ 88 The Transition to Agriculture ..................................................................89 Cultivation of Species................................................................................................................... 92 Humans, Forests and Food......................................................................................................... 94 From Dicthotomy to Duality......................................................................................................99 The Development of Forests, Man and Ecology ......................... 101 The Development of Forests....................................................................................................101 Humans at the Edge...................................................................................................................106 Between Field and Forest..........................................................................................................108 The Edge in Appalachia ............................................................................................................109 Perpetual Change........................................................................................................................112 The Misunderstood Forest .......................................................................... 116 Simplicity and Complexity.........................................................................................................116 Towards Coexistence .................................................................................................................118 Prediction and Uncertainty .......................................................................................................119 Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 122 EPILOGUE ......................................................................................................................... 123 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..............................................................................................................124 The Misunderstood Forest The Misunderstood FOREWORD The continuing story of human conflict over forest use and preservation is complex and bewildering, spanning thousands of years. However, since the early 1990’s, a widespread concern has emerged over the fate of the world's forests. Over the past decade or so, this has led to several international conferences and agreements, as well as dozens of books published on the general topic of man's generally destructive relationship with the earth's forests and wilderness1. Many of these books provide a thorough analysis and describe local issues - from the historical events to the consequences in society and across the landscape. Among them, a substantial number focus on forestry in the controversial Pacific Northwest of North America. In the "Misunderstood Forest", Gene Namkoong set
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