The problem isn’t a lack of trees — B.C. has billions of them. The problem is that many of B.C.’s forests are too young and feeble to log. Over 80 per cent of the province’s replanted trees are less than 40 years old — and most require around 80 to 120 years to be considered mature. They’ve also grown back even-aged and dense, often creating dark, dead zones for animals and other plants… Cutting down some trees now creates an immediate wood supply for a struggling forest industry, and it can reduce competition among the trees that remain, helping them grow bigger, more valuable wood for later… Thinning often requires weighing trade-offs, and a region-specific knowledge of how forests might react.