Vol. 16—1962 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

This narrative of ineptitude must be tempor8rilylillJ.ted at this point to allow me'
to draw your attention to the forester's peculiar burden,.time. Without appearing to
be pedantic, I would like to emphaSite that it takes a longtime to grow a tree. Commercial
hardwoods of sawlog size talf:eupwards of SOyears to reach maturity, while
our fastest growing conifers need 35 or 40 years before they become saleable. Whether
due to climate, past geological events or man's activitY, it is nevertheless true to say
that the lengthy time periods tnvolved with the productiOn of mature forest crops in the
Northeast constitute for the forest manager, as opposed to the manager of any other
enterprise, one of the most serious impediments to IIU1Ilagement. Howis one to plan
for an SO-year period? And how are such plans possible when so little is knownabout
the resource we would control and when the climate for control, of even the most
modest proportions, is so inhospitable?
Butlet us proceed. It is an old aphorism that tlieworld is many things to many
people and this is nonetheless true of the forest and the people who use it. There are
those who work in it, those who live in it, some who huilt or fish in it, many who
recreate in it, ,and appreciable numbers who draw their water supply from it. The
forests of the Northeast are experiencing all these uses today in some degree or other.
In some cases, these varied uses arecomplementary; unfortunately, it is more common
for them to come into conflict with one another. Use creates value, and it has
been our historical experience that use changes with tirhe:and with it the values that
arise from such use. Ours is athn~that breeds ~ and we are witnessing today
rather revolutionary changes that prOfOUndlyaffect the'uses to which we put our forests.
These changes have their origin in the large centers of populanon that separate the
forests from the sea and have to do with the geometric nature of population increase
and the flourishing development of oUr urban way of life. The peoples of these heavily
populated areas are on an active crusade for "Lebensrauin" and they are going to the
very place where they can gEt it easiest, the woods. 'q1eir quest is not only one of
acquiring living space but also of finding solace and seClUSionfor short periods of time
aside and apart from the press of people that daily surrounds them. Bytheir numbers
and the economic power that they wield. these people have created de novo a use for
the forests of the region which is both popular in its' appeal and pre;';ing in its .needs,
As foresters. we have not been trdned to meet this ch4Uenge. Our management
techniques are fashioned around the production of wood fOr uses that are of long sranding,
such as lumber. pulpwood or poles. We are not ecpipped to handle the diversity
of use that arises' from the recreational use of forest land nor are we able to prescribe
with any intelligence when confronted by a request for management techniques
that would have the effect of upgrading the aesthetic values of forest property. Here
again, we are reluctant to say categorically that this or that is a weed tree and should
be eltmtnated, For who is to say what is weed arid what is not? We are dealing here
with subjective preference which it is beyond our ability to objectively determine, Our
present asseeament of the greatest good or the highest value that the forests pOssess
may be so altered by the passage of time and the changes that it works that there will
be those who, in future time, will setiously question oUrsanity.
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