A forester’s goal is to achieve a balanced approach to resource management by considering tradeoffs, environmental protections, operational feasibility and sustainability of activities. Ultimately, the concept of actively managing resources for current and future generations to enjoy is sustainable and should be seen as climate smart.
As a soon-to-be-mom (due in September), I have thought a lot about the future my daughter will grow up in. Am I doing enough to set my corner of the world up for success? Am I influencing positive change? Often these thoughts consume me late at night.
I chose to be a forester because the issues are complex and solutions aren’t always straightforward. There are many opinions about what should or should not occur in the forest because it is human nature to attribute human-like characteristics or spiritual emphasis on those awe-inspiring things around us.
It is true, forests are amazing. That is why I love what I do. I get to help protect nature in a way that fulfills my innate duty to do right by the land.
But, can we actually have our cake and eat it too when it comes to managing this resource? As a forester, I believe the answer is yes. But we must get out of our own way to allow science and the big picture to shine through.
Forests provide a plethora of social, biologic and economic benefits to communities in and around them. It is the professional foresters and operators in Oregon who steward these lands and balance these benefits so future generations may experience their beauty in the same way we do.
Oregon’s forests also are among the best in the nation at sequestering carbon. Wood is produced by trees in a forest, using free energy from the sun, carbon dioxide from the air, plus water and nutrients from the soil. Wood is beautiful, strong, natural, renewable, recyclable, energy efficient and easy-to-use. No other resource on earth can match its environmental advantages.
Clearly, the world should be using more wood, not less, to address our societal needs around climate change, homelessness, wildfire risk and economic vitality. By using more wood, building with mass timber, developing more low-income housing with these products, converting from petroleum to renewable fuels and much more, we have a win-win on our hands.
But we need to celebrate this profession, embrace these opportunities and encourage its development and widespread use.
Working forests provide sustainable and vibrant communities throughout Oregon. They help us achieve carbon neutrality if we allow them and we allow the people working in them to thrive. When we actively manage forests, we can have our cake and eat it too!
Although these goals may seem lofty, I know I am doing right by the land and helping to drive positive change so my daughter will one day be able to look me in the eyes and say she is proud of the efforts I made to address climate change, wildfire, homelessness and economic vitality in Oregon.
Amanda Sullivan-Astor is the forest policy manager for the Associated Oregon Loggers, a certified forester and a monthly contributor to The Register-Guard.
