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ALERT - December 4, 2006: Protect Our Woods joins allies to submit a response to the Draft Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the German Ridge Restoration Project in Hoosier National Forest15. Blowdown of Hardwoods – Where is the Evidence?One of the areas of concern is that of damage of hardwood trees next to pine clearcuts. The question is: will clearcuts of pines from German Ridge, as well as cutting on private lands adjacent to the Forest Service clearcuts, make adjacent hardwood stands susceptible to blowdowns? On these pages we have very inconclusive data from western forests, as well as anecdotal evidence from the Hoosier National Forest saying that the hardwoods are not affected.We need monitoring, not anecdotes. What has happened in the past on eastern forests when clearcuts have been made in the forest interior? What about the integrity and health of adjacent stands? From the German Ridge FEIS, pages 103-104: “No specific mitigation measures are proposed to address windthrow in stands proposed for treatment because trees fall as a result of many different causes and toppling of trees by wind is a continual natural process in forests. Prescribed burning treatments proposed for each of the action alternatives are not expected to affect the potential for windthrow. Experience on the Hoosier has demonstrated that actual blowdown in hardwoods on adjacent stands after silvicultural treatments is negligible.” Here we see anecdotal evidence that blowdown in hardwood is negligible. Where is the real monitoring and survey information? The FEIS continues: “Most of the research on blowdown has been in the West on conifer species. The residual stands that the Hoosier would be trying to maintain and manage would be central hardwoods, so the degree of applicability of the research is not clear. The degree of blowdown on hardwoods would be less than that reported for conifers.” Here we see the Forest Service using data from a conifer forest, without applicability to a central hardwood forest. Why is the Forest Service using data that is not applicable? Click here for Part 16a. Logging of Hardwoods Part 1 of 2Protect Our Woods
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