GOOD FOREST MANAGEMENT MAKES GOOD SENSE FOR THE ECONOMY

President Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his autobiography, "The rights of the public to the natural resources outweigh private rights, and must be given its first consideration." With this attitude, he was instrumental in creating 51 wildlife refuges, five national parks and 18 national monuments and in tripling the size of the national forests. For these accomplishments he has been called America's foremost environmental president.

In addition to setting aside land for the public's enjoyment of nature in wildlife refuges, national monument and national parks, Roosevelt saw the monetary value of the national forests by the game they support and the timber produced. He wrote in one of his books, "The presence of the game would attract outsiders who would leave in the country money, or its equivalent, which would many times surpass in value the game they actually killed." Roosevelt was known for his interest in hunting, so he saw the importance of forests as wildlife habitat. He knew that the presence of wildlife also attracts people with their money to the national parks, national monuments and wildlife refuges just to see the animals and birds.

Many people don't see the economic importance of wild lands and clean streams as Roosevelt did. The money spent on all outdoor activities in the United States runs into the billions of dollars annually. In Missouri, hunters of deer -- the riflemen and archers -- take their turns hunting and spending money in different seasons. They spend money in the areas of the game, but the also spend money in the cities out of season on clothing, hunting equipment and camping supplies. There are turkeys, quail and doves to hunt in their seasons, and we shouldn't overlook fishing, and important sport throughout Missouri. The list of the small items the hunters and fishermen buy is endless, let alone the large items of boats, motors, campers and the vehicles to pull them. Not only do businesspeople in the entire state directly benefit by the sales, but others benefit by the way the money is recycled among many people in society. Also, the entire state benefits from the sales-tax money generated from the sales.

Aside from providing habitat for wildlife, well-managed forests are good for the economy as a result of the clean streams coming from them. In this regard, Roosevelt wrote, "A primeval forest is a great sponge which absorbs and distills the water. And when it is destroyed the result is apt to be an alternate of flood and drought. Unrestrained greed means the ruin of the great woods and the drying up of the sources of the rivers." The fact that forests act as a great sponge is on significance in several ways.

First, forests notably reduce flooding and the resulting economic hardship and property destruction.

Second, the reduction of silt from the forested hills helps maintain clearer streams for the fish. In areas of clear-cut forests, fish eggs are smothered by the mod eroded into the streams, and insect larvae (fish food) are killed.

Third, the water that slowly trickles into the ground of a forest feeds the springs that in turn supply water of steadily flowing streams, a necessity to fishermen and the people who float the streams in canoes or kayaks. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch listed 85 canoe liveries along 13 streams in Missouri's Ozarks, all dependent on the forest for constantly flowing water. This aspect of the economy is usually overlooked, but this number of canoe liveries is no small matter. People from many states come to Missouri's famous Ozark streams to rent canoes from the liveries, float the rivers and are picked up by the livery people at various points along the river and taken back to their cars.

Outdoor sports of all kinds -- hunting, fishing, canoeing, hiking and cycling -- are good for the economy, but they also are good for the individual. Roosevelt wrote in his autobiography, "Hardy outdoor sports, like hunting, are in themselves of no small value to the national character and should be encouraged in every way. Men who go into the wilderness, indeed, men who take part in any field sport ... receive a benefit which can hardly be given by even the most vigorous athletic games." Roosevelt should know, because as a young child he was frail and asthmatic and had many health problems as he grew up. Only when he worked on a ranch he bought in North Dakota and hunted extensively in his 20s did he finally become healthy. He put on about 35 pounds of muscle during the three to four years of this spring and summer activity, so he was a prime example of the results of outdoor life.

Outdoor activity is good for the national character, as Roosevelt puts it, but the U.S. Forest Service reports that recreation on its national forest lands contribute 38 times more to the national economy than its logging program. It's likely the contribution to the economy by these sports on national forests land in Missouri is in this range of benefit.

Most of the forests in Missouri are privately owned, so the economic importance of the forests can be directly realized by the landowners themselves. A recent article in the Southeast Missouri by Joe Garvey, a district forester with the Missouri Department of Conservation, extols the importance of managing forests for profit. He wrote that if a forest is properly managed, the various tree species can be selectively harvested at different stages when they are their best for maximum profit. Forests go through stages when some tree species can be used for pallet wood, ties, grade lumber and, finally, veneer wood. As certain species are used, the value of the whole forest escalates. Young forests contain mostly cord wood which is sold by the ton and has almost no value. "Wholesale cutting of immature stands can bring quick financial rewards, but the replenishment time is so long that it makes little economic sense in the long run. Forests have their greatest value when they are maintained for the long haul," Garvey wrote. He believes that careful management of a forest by thinning out trees for certain uses but leaving trees of other species to mature is definitely the way to maximize profit. The forest can be maintained indefinitely. Advice on how to manage a forest is available from professional foresters in the Conservation Department at no charge whatsoever.

Trees selected from a well-managed forest gives employment to many people: sayers and others at sawmills, employees at lumber yards, carpenters, cabinet makers and furniture makers. Compare these numerous jobs with the three to four jobs at the chip mills producing chips to be shipped out of state. The chip mills already grind up 300,000 tons of tress per year, even though the mills have only recently arrived in Missouri. What does the future hold? Will it be quick, one-time profit from trees sold by the ton resulting in denuded land of very low value, or steady income from a managed forest where on 16-foot oak log of 24-inch diameter can bring $300 to $400 and where a large walnut log can bring over $1,000 from a perpetually growing forest?

Whether we look at the perpetually growing forest from an economic standpoint or what it offers the national character, perhaps Thoreau had it right when he wrote, "In wildness is the preservation of mankind."

Russ Kullberg is a Cape Girardeau resident.