Tree Talk: The People and Politics of Timber

by Ray Raphael

Nice clean copy

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Tessa Fenstermaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I understand the book was published in a different time, so it was impossible to see how things would change and the language used is different than if written today (mostly emphasizing men in the woods, for example). However, some of what the author wrote is just factually untrue. Specifically about the way the USFS holds contractors/loggers accountable for stewardship. I urge anyone who cares enough to look into these contracts and get involved during the public comment period of NEPA. It was also interesting to see the perception of pesticides at the time (of course they were being used improperly in the instances described). The concept of landed forestry is an interesting one, but it seems like a vague suggestion with little actionable items for setup that would be hard to get started with the current infrastructure of not just the timber industry but our entire country. I can also see how it could compromise the concept of “public land”. Every piece of the forest is as much mine as it is yours, but these people living there are supposed to form attachment to “their” part of the forest. Ending the book with a made up imaginative perspective of one of these landed foresters was strange, and it felt like the book was unfinished.

It was interesting to read about the history and perspective of what logging used to be like, and the author nails a lot about the exploitation of workers by the system as well as exploitation of the system by workers. Some of the points about the forest service were spot-on (in particular needing to move locations to move up).

[Virginia Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1981, it is still one of those important books for any scholar of the environment to read, on par with the ecological classics, Cadillac Desert and Silent Spring.

Reveals the dark underbelly of industrial scale logging while at the same time, defending "landed foresters"--people who live on the land they log so they know it like an intimate friend, respect it and treat it as such. Also provides fascinating historical account of logging, much of it focused on not destroying what you make your living off of-the land. Interestingly, the author anticipates current science which is that the eco-system, made up of all the layers of a forest, herb, shrub, subcanopy, canopy, support one another and destroying one layer for the other does not make the other thrive, and in fact, forces greater reliance on herbicides and completely artificial methods to grow trees. American forestry wants to grow trees like any other agricultural crop, corn for example, but as the author says, you can't grow trees like corn. This is coming to a head yet again as the forestry industry in California tries to sell the idea of logging and "brush clearing" as the way to make people "fire safe". Just log and "brush" the hell out of your land and everything will be fine. As shown by the recent catastrophic fires in CA, this is not so but it was never so--the whole "fire safety by way of destroying all your native plants" was a way to revive the forestry industry in CA under the guise of "public safety". Demonize the trees, the chaparral, make lots of money and claim it makes people "fire safe"--one of the greatest hoaxes put over on the innocent homeowner as we find out year after year after year because it is wind that drives fires. Stick a bunch of wood homes in the woods, made of plywood, flammable glues, etc. THEY become the fuel, set one another on fire. The real fuel are the HOMES but nobody in California wants to talk about what's really happening. Might piss off the forestry and housing industries. Blame it on manzanita.

As the author points out, the land is not a product, trees are not products, as much as capitalism would like to make it so. Inevitably, they are part of a living ecosystem and all hell can break loose if a logger doesn't understand this--hell, meaning ecologically from mass erosion to regulatory fines.

This is a thorough, well-written fascinating book. A must for anyone who advocates for proper stewardship of land, public or private and its lessons are still relevant today.

[Ronnie Rackers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting look at different perspectives of people in the timber industry in the 80s and earlier. The book felt very grounded in its research and covered a lot of detail without bogging anything down beyond comprehension. In the last chapter, there's a story from a hopeful future with enough realism that makes it feel like it could be possible, unfortunately though it's set in 2021, maybe in another 50 years though.