RE: Kehota Vegetation Management Project – Wayne National Forest Athens Ranger District
In 1865, the man who would eventually become the first Chief Forester of the US Forest Service was born in central Connecticut. Gifford Pinchot was a pioneer in forest management reform. He strongly supported the planned use and renewal of the nation’s forest resources. Pinchot promoted scientific forestry and placed heavy emphasis on the controlled use of forest and natural resources for the “greater good” of mankind. Today, thanks to Pinchot and his family, roughly one-third of the United States is forested, with over 8 million acres of forest growing here in Ohio.
Ohio’s forest and wood products industry represents a substantial and sustainable resource base that is vital to the economic success of the 32-county Appalachian region of Ohio. From the foresters to sawmills, from loggers to value-added manufacturers, forest and wood products provide 26,000 jobs and over $5 billion dollars annually to the economy in Appalachia Ohio. Gifford Pinchot’s vision was deftly carried forward by the US Forest Service and Ohioans who benefit from forest and wood products $25 billion dollar statewide economic contribution, can thank the US Forest Service for their leadership along the way.
The recent Kehota Vegetation Management Project proposed by the Forest Service is another project in a long line of sound, scientific forest management practices. A recent publication by Mississippi State University (MSU) on Forestry Myths and Misconceptions, touches on the sensitive nature of “clear cuts” and “pine forest deserts”. In this release, MSU discusses the lifespan of pine plantations (30-60 years) and the need to thin pine forests to increase “understory browse and plant growth for wildlife.” Additionally, MSU acknowledges that clearcutting is “OK” and they go on to state “clearcutting is a valuable management tool for foresters and wildlife managers”. The clearing of 490 acres of planted pines in Wayne National Forest may be an objectionable act to some, but it is just what the father of modern forestry would prescribe and there is little doubt Gifford Pinchot would approve of this proposal.
As a leader in economic development within the forest and wood products industry here in Ohio, the Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth (APEG) would like to convey our full support for the Kehota Vegetation Management Project. Through our Forest to Furniture initiative, our organization sees evidence of the Pinchot family’s legacy in action on a daily basis. The Kehota Project is one more way for proper forest management to pay it forward for the “greater good”. The regrowth of 490 acres of hardwood forest in southern Ohio benefits wildlife and mankind alike. APEG would like to thank the US Forest Service for their efforts in properly managing one of Ohio’s most important resources.