Posted by
Rossman on Monday, January 01, 2007 3:50:52 PM
RESTORATION PROCEDURE by Tom Bonnickson
Restoration forestry follows a simple five-step procedure.
Step 1: Document the historic forest. Select an appropriate historic
period as the guideline for restoration. Then document the historic
forest using existing literature and local knowledge. Historical
journals and photographs, as well as numerous scientific and technical
methods, can provide additional information when needed.
Step 2: Form a partnership with the private sector. A partnership
between government and forestry professionals in the private sector is
essential to make restoration technically and economically feasible.
Step 3: Identify a reference historic forest. Restoration forestry
requires deciding how closely a modern forest should resemble a
historic forest. The decision requires the help of forestry
professionals and depends on what is feasible and desirable in a
particular location. The goal is to develop a restored forest that
approximates the original historic forest.
Step 4: Use the reference historic forest as a model for restoring
the current forest. Use the most cost-effective restoration treatments
available to restore the forest with the help of forestry
professionals. The initial restoration requires a long-term commitment.
It will take one or more decades to restore most historic forests.
Step 5: Maintain the restored forest. Once restored, a forest
requires continued maintenance using modern technology, prescribed
fire, and the continuing help of forestry professionals. The best way
to do this is to mimic the effects of historical disturbances that are
missing from the restored forest such as lightning fires that are too
dangerous to leave uncontrolled.