Burning up the woods

People stop, look, and move on with an unsettled feeling when they see the stockpiles of whole logs lined up for export to China and other countries from Portland Harbor. The pile looks enormous; what are the implications of this drain on our forests and our economy, they wonder.

I am glad the pile of logs is catching people’s attention and directing concern to Maine’s woods. But whole log exports are not a new phenomenon and some would argue that the increase in log exports is positive for Maine. Why the alarm now? I think it is the tangible, visible nature of the log piles that is unnerving to us. Most of the time, the Maine woods are out of sight and out of mind.

Nowadays, it seems we can only respond to the pressures facing Maine’s forests when they are right at our doorstep or when there is a crisis. For example, we are able to have great empathy for the rain forests of the southern hemisphere, but forget the great contribution of Maine’s forests to clean air, water, wildlife and economic health.

Perhaps there are ways to make more visible our inter-dependence with Maine’s North Woods and the communities nearby. What if we were to amass on Portland’s docks all the wildlife that dwells in the woods: the songbirds that summer here, as well as those animals that must survive harsh winters. We could add to this all of the camping, hunting, fishing and other recreational pursuits, and related jobs, that depend in some way on the existence of wildlife in the forests.

We could also add the clean water that is generated by the brooks, streams and rivers that originate in the North Woods and the health of our estuaries and bays that are nourished by these waters. We could try to quantify the value of this water by how many communities and businesses draw upon and benefit from it.

We could line up all of the uses to which the trees in the North Woods are used for, and the jobs created by those uses. This would be almost equaled, if not exceeded, by the “uses” of the beauty of the North Woods and the contribution made to recreation and tourism jobs from the mountains, lakes and rugged appeal of this area.

We must not forget to add to our imaginary stockpile the communities that depend upon the North Woods for jobs and a sense of identity. We all benefit when people and communities in the North Woods thrive. We all suffer indirectly, if not directly, the economic pains when jobs are cut in Millinocket. When there is economic dislocation anywhere in the state, we all pay through higher taxes, services and concern for those towns.

When we add up all that the North Woods provides us, the fate of Maine’s North Woods should be a direct concern. We benefit from it daily in important, although often hidden, ways. Must we wait until too many remote ponds are developed, until the forest is overcut, until too many jobs are lost, or until too many species of plants or animals vanish, before we take steps to hold onto the North Woods?

Yet we are losing the North Woods. Recent research developed by the Land Use Regulation Commission reveals that two-thirds of new seasonal dwellings since 1971 have located on the shores of lakes and ponds. Of these, 53 percent have located on Class 1A lakes — lakes of statewide significance and which represent only 8 percent of all lakes. In other words, there are only a handful of the “best” wilderness lakes and they are the first to be developed.

The forest land base is shrinking. Although most of the North Woods remains in parcels of more than 500 acres, there has been accelerating fragmentation. The number of landowners holding parcels of less than 500 acres has increased substantially over the last 20 years, from approximately 5,500 to more than 9,300. Most of the acreage in these lots (about 320,000 acres) is, practically speaking, in the process of ripening for eventual conversion or development.

Forest-related employment is decreasing. There is a downward trend in forest products manufacturing jobs, ongoing for more than a decade. One estimate is that from 1984-1992, full-time woods jobs declined 40 percent. Increasing mechanization, global competition, recession, and lack of capital investment are contributing to this trend. Maintaining the status quo cannot assure the economic future of the North Woods communities.

There are ominous signs for the health of the forest itself. A recent survey of Maine’s forest estimates that the total volume of trees has declined by 15 percent over the last decade. Most of this decline was in softwoods which were reduced by 22 percent in 10 years (felt most heavily in spruce fir, which went down 31 percent). Despite the passage of a Forest Practices Act in 1989, forest harvesting is still intense and there are no countervailing pressures to slow down cutting overall, should harvesting pressures increase.

I end on a personal note. Even now, after countless camping and hiking trips to Maine’s North Woods, I am inspired by its large and rugged expanse. Like many, I am drawn to the scraggly, boggy and moose-ridden woods, especially its vastness. In my view, it would be a tragedy of mindless neglect and a failure of our collective imagination if we lose the “greatness” of this area.

This spring, there will be public forums sponsored by the Northern Forest Lands Council to hear our views. This is the public’s chance to talk about the future of the Maine woods and to design long-lasting solutions. Please participate in this historic opportunity.

Karin Tilberg, a resident of Bowdoinham, is a policy adviser for the Maine Audubon Society.