Learning to be a Forester

Day 30 Photo Album

October 2, 2009

The cold is settling into the land here in New Mexico. Today was a lesson in how be a good forester. My brother works for the Forest Service and has been involved with controlled burns and tree thinning to control wildfire. He taught me a few things about choosing which trees to cut down and how to create wildlife habitat.  Foresters have controlled fires too well over the last 100 years and now understand that wildfires are nature’s way of balancing the number of trees.

First he chooses the healthiest, dominant trees around and gives them the chance to live longer, i.e., he doesn’t cut them down.  Dead trees can be cut down only if there are plenty of them; you need at least 2 or 3 per acre.  Why?  First, because wildlife can make homes in dead trees.  Second, when they fall to the ground they return nutrients to the soil for the next generation of trees.  Then he looks for at least 20 feet from crown to crown of space between trees that will stay standing.  Those in between can be cut down.

While my explanations are simplified extrusions of the wealth of knowledge he holds, being in the forest was a great way to see and feel what this is all about.