Aug. 7

At last I have the right date!!!

21C and sunny, a quiet morning with no wind and unfortunately my birds haven't come back yet. Had the flock of Titmice here yesterday but they make no noise, they will probably make their noonday visit again today.

Our part in 'the move' is done and we will go bowling this afternoon. I changed most of the pictures late yesterday so I'll try and find something to post and then at some point must get back to the Pearce's.

Here's something I did a couple of years ago.

FORESTRY!

WHAT HAPPENED?

One man’s view from the forest trenches.

John Little

Introduction

The idea of relating some of my observations and experiences in the BC Forest Service has been banging at me for a couple of years. My earliest experiences related here have no bearing on the fall of “The Forest Empire” but they will help to set the stage for the direction and in my opinion the demise of the stewardship of our forest lands.

These reflections cover a thirty-five year period commencing in 1953 although in fact they are somewhat supplemented by my teenage years as I grew up in a Forest Service household.

I will endeavor to make no judgements in the following pages, just attempt to relate what I was part of, what I saw and what I experienced. If my words cause some ire to arise, I offer no apologies. Cause that’s the way it was!

Before I started.

  My experiences with the Forest Branch later the Forest Service began when I was five years old. The only important memory that I carry from those first years is that in those days Rangers were appointed to the job on a combination of things, one not of the least importance was “keep your nose clean”. Most of them were older fellows way back then and had generally followed the route of being first a patrolman in the summer, then becoming an Assistant Ranger and finally a Ranger. A very few were later selected to become Supervisors.  All training was on the job, their education level was generally somewhere between grade eight and grade eleven although a few had made it all the way to grade twelve.  Assistant Rangers were transferred without argument on an average of every two years. Rangers would move from the worst districts in terms of isolation and lack of schooling for their children as soon as a more desirable location became vacant.

  Shortly before I became a teenager I started traveling with my father in the summer months on his week long trips by Forestry boat. We visited the many logging camps, some floating, that used to be prevalent on the BC coast. Almost all logging operations were high-lead in those days with a mix of one or two man hand-logging operations. They were an absolute contrast in methodology. Even in those days there were some restrictions as to the size and specie of tree to be harvested. Obviously where ever there was high-lead it was either cut down or smash down. All trees, correction, most trees ending up at the donkey engine were either hauled or dragged to the water side dump or as in many cases, a donkey engine would be placed on a raft and everything was dragged straight into the ‘chuck’. The hand-loggers on reflection were actually the forerunners of selective logging and although without intention were carrying out reasonably environmentally sound operations.

  The role of the coastal Forestry staff was to map out the road system (where applicable), ensure the logging operation had not crossed the predetermined boundaries and carry out fire tool inspections and enforce hazard restrictions on logging shows and fight fire during the summer months. High-lead logging did not exist in the interior of the province in those days, skidding of felled timber was done with small tractors and horses. Again a type of selective logging was occurring as large trees were too big to skid or to mill and of course no one would log balsam and only tie-hackers would look at a pine tree.