Loggers rip into Poland's wild forest

Guardian Unlimited ^ | Friday August 29, 2003 | Sophie Arie in Bialowieza forest

[gd124]

Government licence to fell ancient trees leaves trail of destruction

Loggers rip into Poland's wild forest

Government licence to fell ancient trees leaves trail of destruction

Sophie Arie in Bialowieza forest Friday August 29, 2003 The Guardian

Late at night the howling of wolves still echoes through the dark shadows of Bialowieza forest, where the last European bison roam and more elks than humans tend to tread.

For centuries only the odd Polish king, Russian tsar or Lithuanian duke out hunting disturbed this vast forest, a last fragment of the primeval woodlands which once covered much of Europe. But since the Polish government eased the restrictions on logging the piercing sound of chainsaws has increasingly disturbed the peace.

Forestry companies, supported by the government, have felled hundreds of ancient trees. The logging is the most intense for 50 years. Crudely hacked clearings scar the outer ring of the 2,600 sq km (1,000 sq miles) of forest where the loggers have carved tracks for their trailers between Norwegian spruce and lime trees.

A trail of stumps, fallen trunks and heaps of foliage near the village of Bialowieza shows their latest advance.

"It's devastating. What's the point of calling this a nature reserve? It looks more like a road," said Stefan Jakimiuk of the WWF-Poland.

Pointing to the stump of a spruce, he added: "This tree was over 160 years old. This is the last piece of natural forest in Europe. It's like a chain. If you break one link, the whole system breaks down."

In May the government lifted a ban on felling trees more than a century old. The decision was intended to help control an outbreak of bark beetles, which are silently eating their way through much of the forest.

"It's a joke," Mr Jakimiuk said. "Scientists have shown that cutting down trees killed by the beetles has no effect. It doesn't stop them spreading anyway. All it does is make money for the foresters."

The beetle had plagued the forest's spruce for thousands of years, part of the natural cycle of destruction and regeneration, he added.

Eight species of woodpecker, including the endangered white-backed, depend on insects from dead trees. Rare pygmy owls nest in their trunks and plants thrive on the dead wood. About 300 European bison are accompanied by a rare lynx population and 25 wolves. The forest's biodiversity compares to the Amazon basin's. It attracts more than 100,000 tourists a year.

The core of the forest is a Unesco world heritage site, covering 5,000 hectares, and another 10,000 hectares are protected as a national park.

Over the next 10 years, environmentalists predict, logging companies will cut down about 1.5m trees. With 28% of Poland covered in forest, they argue, there is timber elsewhere. The loggers are banned from entering the world heritage site and the national park. But Mr Jakimiuk and other environmentalists point out that ancient trees are scattered across the remaining 75% of the forest, and argue that commercial logging should be banned throughout Bialowieza.

They are pinning their hopes on the EU supporting their campaign after Poland joins next year.

"This is not just a Polish problem," said Bogdan Jaroszewicz, deputy director of the Bialowieza national park. "This forest is the last of its kind in Europe. I hope that in future the EU will help to protect it."

The government denies that its policies are damaging. "There are extremists who always have to complain. That is their job. But we know we are doing the best thing to protect the forest," the director of the state forests authority, Janusz Dawidziuk, said. "If we do not cut down 10 trees now, tomorrow we will have to cut down 100, and the next day 1,000. Huge parts of the forest will die."

[gd124]

This a damn shame. I have been to Bialowieza forest and it is one of the most amazing places in the world. There isn't much primeval forest left in Europe. (I fully expect to be flamed for posting this, but I don't care)

[risk]

Not from me.

Conservation is conservative by definition. How to get there is the real debate. There are four camps involve:

1. Consumers who'll do anything to consume.
2. Consumers who honestly want to consume cautiously and fairly.
3. Conservationists who want to conserve in order to feed an agenda.
4. Conservationists who want to conserve for the betterment of all, and can honor a balance of human needs against nature's.

But that's just the politics. We still have to decide whether or not old growth trees are worth protecting, regardless of the above dilemma. That's not to mention the potential need for a protected stand of timber to be thinned and its underbrush reduced to avoid fire risk, an idea that is also subject to politicization.

I can't tell who's on what side here yet, but I'm usually on the side of saving old trees -- unless they are directly in the way of human progress. A stagnant economy isn't reason enough to slaughter them in my view.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

ping

[Publius6961]

I love articles which have such an outrageous biased title that it is unnecessary to read them.
I confess I peeked anyway and the first line triggered a search for the barf alert.

I'm sure all the "dead" words are there, killed by overuse and abuse: pristine, unique, irreplaceable, last, yada yada yada...

[_Jim]

In May the government lifted a ban on felling trees more than a century old.

The decision was intended to help control an outbreak of bark beetles, which are silently eating their way through much of the forest.

Okay ... cut away the SMOKE in this article and this is the REASON the cutting is going on ... most 'Greens' seem to take the view that nature is stagnant and *nothing* changes whereas reality is a whole 'nother thing ...

[Erik Latranyi]

This is another outrageous article that attempts to hyperinflate the effects of timbering. This may be a beautiful area, but it will be even more healthy when thinned. The birds that so depend on the bugs from those trees are not doing their job if there is an infestation of beetles. For centuries only the odd Polish king, Russian tsar or Lithuanian duke out hunting disturbed this vast forest Ah, the good old days when the people were properly suppressed.

[raybbr]

Why wait? Why don't we just cut down every tree in the world and use it up?

What the hell is so wrong with wanting to preserve an ancient forest?

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Subhuman Poles are not entitled to the benefits of development which we take for granted. They should learn their roles as scenery for Western tourists. Same goes for the Brazilians.

[_Jim]

What the hell is so wrong with wanting to preserve an ancient forest?

An example of an ABJECT FAILURE to read and comprehend -

- a glowing example of the publik skool system's 'product' here in amerika ...

[Core_Conservative]

have felled hundreds of ancient trees

It may be a shame, however, if we don't fell the old tress, how will new ones be able to take their place and become "Hundreds" of years old. This guy talked of a 160 yo tree, how much longer will it last before succumbing to old age, or some other malady. I hope that the Polish Government will be cautious with their permits and allow the loggers some freedom as well. There is a fine balance between the two, but to just leave things alone is not one of them - it is not human nature.

[raybbr]

"It's a joke," Mr Jakimiuk said. "Scientists have shown that cutting down trees killed by the beetles has no effect. It doesn't stop them spreading anyway. All it does is make money for the foresters." The beetle had plagued the forest's spruce for thousands of years, part of the natural cycle of destruction and regeneration, he added.

Apparently you have chosen to read only as far as your imaginary beliefs will take you. While others are capable of comprehending both sides of an issue, you choose to provide us with a little snippet of what you see as the truth.

Thank you so much for your unparalleled wisdom and honesty.

[raybbr]

BTW. In your infinite lack of wisdom you succesfully were wrong in your assumption that I went to a public school.

[StriperSniper]

have felled hundreds of ancient trees

It must be a pretty sparse forest of 'hundreds of trees' makes a big difference in 1000 sq. miles.

[_Jim]

"It's a joke," Mr Jakimiuk said. "Scientists have shown that cutting down trees killed by the beetles has no effect.

Assertion without proof AND without supporting history (this, after all, has been a 'pristine' yada yada yada 'woods' for how long now?) ...

[_Jim]

In your infinite lack of wisdom you succesfully were ...

... calling it like I saw it.

Your adherence to a 'one sided' party-line view on this subject stands out markedly.

[Publius6961]

Why wait? Why don't we just cut down every tree in the world and use it up?

Typical idiot mentality: cut it all or nothing.

What use is forest and timber without humans to relate the thought to?

After millions of air miles all over this planet, I laugh every time I look out the window.

Having been in Humbolt county recently I shook my head at the sight of thousands of acres literally choking themselves into oblivion.
Dumb and dumber.

[redhead]

""It's a joke," Mr Jakimiuk said. "Scientists have shown that cutting down trees killed by the beetles has no effect. It doesn't stop them spreading anyway. All it does is make money for the foresters." The beetle had plagued the forest's spruce for thousands of years, part of the natural cycle of destruction and regeneration, he added."

The spruce beetle ravages some of Alaska's forests all the time. I guess, from this guy's remarks, that he prefers to see standing dead and deadfall trees everywhere. At least, loggers REMOVE the dead trees to clean the forest floor and allow space for young trees to mature. Alaska's Forest Service allows individuals to go into these areas and harvest all the deadwood they want for firewood, etc. Todays saplings are tomorrow's old-growth forest...

[Libertina]

I support intelligent logging and forest management that continues to produce products to harvest. That being said, there is nothing wrong with preserving some forest area from commercial use. We do it also in the US - it's called a National Park. Sorry for your loss, gd124. FReeper Carry_Okie has a great book on the environment called Natural Process. Perhaps he'll have something to add to this thread.

[happygrl]

No flaming here either.

I didn't know that Europe had bison.

Do they resemble the American bison ?

[raybbr]

Your adherence to a 'one sided' party-line view on this subject stands out markedly.

How on earth did you get to this premise. All I asked was what was so wrong in wanting to preserve an ancient forest.

You seem to be the one who is desparate in his desire to decimate a forest, seemingly for any reason. Is that just because you want to stick in the face of environmentalists?

Do you live in Poland? Why are you so vehement in your desire to see these trees cut down? What possible benefit does the ruination of an ancient forest have to you? Is it just your vitriolic zeal in seeing man overcome nature?

Talk about one-sided. At least I took the time to look at both sides of the issue before pronouncing my position.