James Steidle

One definition of insanity I heard is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. And yet that’s exactly what the Ministry of Forests is doing up on Tabor Mountain with taxpayer money in their various reforestation schemes. Well, almost. But this is a pretty succinct summary of forest management, past and present, so bear with me. In 1961, two massive wildfires swept over Tabor Mountain…  Almost immediately, government started with its “rehabilitation” efforts, which of course meant planting conifer trees and suppressing the all-important deciduous regeneration- the aspen, birch, and cottonwood, with either herbicides or brush saws. …In forestry’s reductive mind, the forest is battleground of competition, and anything that isn’t a “crop” tree is a weed, and must be exterminated. …Maybe the government figures the rules are different for them.  Maybe doing the same thing and expecting a different result is a special privilege only government can enjoy.