The Chapter welcomed Mr. James (Jamie) MacKenzie as the guest speaker at the November meeting. Mr. MacKenzie is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a degree in Forestry. He worked for 19 years at Union Camp and is now in private procurement.
His expertise is in Timber Harvesting/Management which he said may seem counter to the Izaak Walton Member’s Pledge: “to know the beauty and understanding of nature, and the value of wildlife, woodlands, and open space. To the preservation of this heritage and to man’s sharing it.” Jamie explained that harvesting timber may not seem like preservation of the woodlands, but it is actually very beneficial to ensuring the preservation of our woodlands by maintaining healthy, vigorous trees.
He reviewed all of the products that are derived from trees, from the obvious things like lumber and paper to disposable diaper “fluff”, waxes used for lipstick, and nanocellulose used for racecars. “There’s a lot more to a tree than you would think.” All parts of harvested trees are being used, including processing by-products.
Because trees are an integral part of our economy and the health of our planet, proper management is vital to sustainment. Forests of varying ages provide good habitat for wildlife. Mature, old growth forests often do not have sufficient understory or open areas to support diverse birds and wildlife.
Mr. MacKenzie provided statistics on the forestry industry nationally and in Virginia. Timber stand management is effectively the same as cultivation in farming. The typical managed forest has a twenty-year life cycle from seedling planting to harvesting. The timber industry accounts for $7.5 billion annually in Virginia, $186 billion in the U.S. For every tree cut in Virginia, 3 or 4 are replanted. The southeastern U.S. is considered the lumber capital of the world because the climate is conducive to hardy tree growth.
While it can be disturbing to see a timber stand harvest, know that if the land is not being developed, the replanting or natural regrowth will provide valuable habitat. The newly planted seedlings will grow much more vigorously than the older trees that they replace, and in the future will be there to provide valuable products to future generations.