Fire is One Common Ground We Can Agree On 

I attended the National Association of State Foresters meeting in Huntsville, Alabama, in July. These are government employees from Republican and Democrat-run states. I was still determining what to expect from them and their perspectives on the hardwood industry. I was surprised to learn how much they value sawmills, logging, and using wood products.  

On a tour through Sewanee University Forest, I asked several state foresters if they would see more uncontrolled fires happening in the South and East if we didn’t start harvesting more deciduous trees; they all answered emphatically, “Yes.” They all appreciate fire and use it to control undergrowth and help create/maintain healthy multi-story forests. These two to three-story forest canopies are critical to helping the forest adapt to change. The Maryland State Forester, Dr. Anne Hairston-Strang, gave me the quote, “A forest that pays, stays.” This means that a forest that generates income through sustainable harvesting practices is more likely to be preserved. Forest diversity can be maintained with shelterwood harvesting, fires, and even clear-cuts, ensuring forests stay productive and growing.  

I also learned how essential fires were in growing Southern forests. I had previously thought they didn’t need fire or have them because their forests were mostly private and well-managed. I was wrong; fire is an integral part of forest change everywhere. We all know that forests are constantly changing. Forests are a dynamic ecosystem that is impacted by natural and manmade changes. Trying to hold a forest static, pristine, and untouched is one of the major causes of the forest fires in California and Canada. The public doesn’t think about the forest changing and that trees die naturally from infestations, rot/decay, fire, and other natural phenomena. Discussing climate change in relation to forests can be misleading because the public often views forests as the solution but mistakenly believes that this means preventing fires & avoiding all tree cutting. Tennessee State Forester Heather Slayton captured these assumptions well when she told me, “We love our forests to death.”    

Fire is essential for keeping forests healthy, and aging forests are a significant cause of fires. What does this mean for loggers, sawmills, concentration yards, distributors, and wood product manufacturers? Your supply is not going away; we need to continue to use hardwood, not just in the 21st century but also in the 22nd and beyond. Don’t use substitutes; the forests need you as much as you need the forests. Boldly talk about how you are helping forests change and stay healthy. 

The smoke is unfortunate, as is the loss of life and property, but more small fires and harvesting can prevent the big fires. We must act now, or we will have mega-fires in the South and East in another 40 years. As a manufacturer, adapt to the trees in your local forests and keep optimizing, automating, and innovating. Everyone fears uncontrolled forest fires, but forest managers respect the role of small fires and responsible harvesting. We need to communicate the importance of using more hardwoods and their role in our forests’ future. While not everyone understands the benefits of tree harvesting, most people grasp the necessity of preventing fires. We must highlight the risk of future uncontrolled fires if we don’t increase the harvesting of hardwood trees in the South and East. The leave-it-on-the-ground model has already been proven to burn in the West.

Fire is One Common Ground We Can Agree On.

Dallin Brooks
NHLA Executive Director
dallin@nhla.com | 901-377-0182