Editor,
Ann Foster, president of the Friends of Clark County, does not understand the basics of forest carbon sequestration. About 50% of the weight of a 60-year-old Douglas fir is carbon tonnage. When that tree is harvested, transferred to a mill and processed into lumber, the carbon remains in the lumber and is not released into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the 60-year-old tree’s rate of growth has been steadily slowing, and therefore the amount of carbon it is pulling in has been decreasing. After harvest, it will be replaced by a young and vigorous stand of new trees that will be pulling carbon in at an increasing rate for the next 60 years.
Old growth trees, which the environmental groups have effectively “protected” from harvesting, are no longer growing at all and therefore are no longer sequestering carbon. As those trees die and begin decomposing, they are releasing their millions of tons of stored carbon into our atmosphere. Besides, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has already set aside roughly 50% of its 2.1 million acres of ownership in the state as forest reserves that are off limits to timber harvest. The harvests that do occur on DNR land are meticulously planned to protect habitats, sensitive slopes and water quality, while also creating jobs, building materials and funding for rural schools and public services.
Jack Roscoe
Battle Ground
