Feb 27 2024 41 mins 3
Where I live in the coast range, I am surrounded in all directions by industrial timber plantations for miles in all directions.
Now, I have no problem with logging. I think silviculture is a good and noble profession. But it is plain for anyone to see that the short rotation, financialized plantation management practiced by the Wall Street investors who own the vast majority of private timberland is destroying our communities and ecosystems.
The Coast Range Association has been highlighting the need for an alternative model of forest management that sustains both economies and ecosystems for decades. So when I heard about today’s guest’s research into community forests, I was all ears.
Alexander Harris is the Land and Water policy manager at the bellingham based non-profit ReSources. Alexander recently completed a graduate program in Environmental Policy at Western Washington University, where his research explored how community-driven forest stewardship can help restore watersheds.
Research Links/Show Notes:
Restoring The Nooksak Through Community-Driven Forest Stewardship: https://cedar.wwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2151&context=wwuet
Referenced in this episode:
https://www.nwcommunityforests.org/
https://stewartmountaincf.org/
https://nisquallylandtrust.org/our-lands-and-projects/nisqually-community-forest
https://www.dnr.wa.gov/Teanaway
https://co.chelan.wa.us/natural-resources/pages/nason-ridge-community-forest
https://www.sightline.org/profile/kate-anderson/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBKlofDmdpo&pp=ygUOamVycnkgZnJhbmtsaW4%3D
