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Fred Stevens – Sustainable Harvest – Balance
August 18th, 2009By C. Hunnie
Fred Stevens, an Aboriginal health worker for his community of Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation, is a careful teacher and acute observer of the boreal forest landscape around him.
Fred sustainably harvests non-timber products and medicines from the boreal forest near his residence just north of Swan River, Manitoba. Muskeg tea (also called Labrador tea), cedar, and sweet grass, are some of the products and medicines he hand-picks for customers, family, and for teachings.
His method for collecting any product or creation from the earth is the same, a prayer is said in his language and an offering of tobacco is left. The importance of respect is clear, Fred adds, “I don’t take the whole cedar tree, I take the end branches. I set tobacco at the base of the tree, on the south or east side where the sun comes up. I ask for forgiveness and for help, to help the others it gets passed onto.”
The idea of giving before you take has seemingly been ignored by the logging industry which operates near Swan River. Fred reveals that logging corporation Louisiana Pacific’s harvesting practices have altered the boreal forest landscape, forcing out wildlife and species that once thrived there. There is regeneration he says but the species composition has to adjust to the barren landscape caused by clear-cutting, effectively reducing some species ability to compete for the sunlight and moisture and increasing the invasion of others. Medicines that once grew in an area may not grow back after it has been clear-cut. Similarly wild berries are choked out by the rapid growth of underbrush.
Clear-cutting, unlike damage from a forest fire, destroys the soil including the fungi and other soil bacteria that feed the forest’s nutrient and water system. The network of forest roads also affect soils by compacting and rutting the landscape, increasing soil erosion which adds to the nutrients in nearby waterways. These nutrients alter the aquatic ecosystem enabling the excessive development of algae and aquatic plants which, when broken down, consume the oxygen in the water species need to survive. Clear-cut logging also removes the organic material off-site, while fires leave organic matter on site, effectively rebuilding the soil required for regeneration after such a disturbance.
It has been argued that clear-cut logging must continue in order to maintain employment. Understanding the need for jobs in the north, Fred puts the issue into perspective. “It is all machinery now, claiming to be up to environmental standards. I don’t know how they can say that. After an area is logged, it looks like the land is getting ready to be farmed.” Instead, Fred advocates for the need to rethink logging methods that strikes a balance. Rather than judge the output volume of trees to be of chief importance, jobs for the people should be regarded more strongly. Mechanization increases the output of timber production while reducing the number of workers required. This approach provides little benefit to Manitobans overall while causing extensive damage to our forest ecosystems.
Giving back
Sustainable harvesting of non-timber products in the boreal forest throughout northern communities provides subsistence while maintaining the balance of the forest’s ecological systems. Forest companies would be wise to follow the teachings and examples set-out by people like Fred that recognize that in destroying the forest, you are decimating the sole object of your survival. The future of logging in Canada depends on the long-term sustainability of our forests. The forestry companies should be giving back with best practices that minimize damage and provide more jobs rather than liquidating natural capital for the benefit of a few. Intrinsic respect for the land is required as is the knowledge that everything is interconnected, now and into the future.
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Wonderful reading about Fred, so interesting.