#95-Valuing Forests With Milo Mihajlovich, Robert Wagner and Daniel Harrison

What is a forest? How do we define it? Is it the trees? The wildlife? The soil or the water? What about a place to find food or a spiritual connection? Forests are all of these things. So when we talk about sustainable forest management shouldn’t we be talking about all of these factors? Today’s conversation was about how to move forest management into the future. It was about how we can ensure that our forests are sustainable for everyone forever.ResourcesRobert WagnerDaniel HarrisonSustainable development in Canadian forestry in the face of changing paradigmsSponsorsWest FraserGreenLink Forestry Inc.Quotes11.26 - 11.36: “For me, sustainability is as much about the message as about the… ecosystem out there in the forest.” TakeawaysWildlife biodiversity (19.55)Meeting the public’s expectations of species numbers is difficult because many species need viable forest landscapes which rely on interactions among forest stands. Forest and political sustainability (25.11)Forest and political sustainability are not the same; some ways to achieve forest sustainability may not gain a social license from the public.Clear communication (27.28)Milo adds that they struggle with the public equating mining or oil-gas operations with forest harvesting when they are quite different disturbances in terms of impact on habitat. Managing expectations (30.59)Daniel talks about how the public has pushed for certain forestry acts to be put into force, but those have not met their objectives. Political management practices (35.10)Narrowly focusing on one issue creates an unsustainable landscape over a period of time, but forest managers have the tools and training to deliver a sustainable forest landscape. The forests the public wants (38.43)Milo talks about how he worked on forest regeneration by using a whole array of ecological measures to be able to talk about reforestation in terms of sustainability. Creating habitat (44.12)Daniel laments that conservationists and the general public confuse sustainable forests with pristine conditions. Custodians of the forest (49.17)Milo highlights that most forestry practices appear unnatural to the public, even though they are being done to fulfil their wishes.Promise and passion (56.37)Milo believes that foresters need to return to their original motivation of entering the profession. Look to the landscape (1.00.49)Daniel says, “When we manage at the stand level and focus at the stand level, those outcomes are easy to quantify but don't really get us to the issue of sustainability”. Future engagement (1.07.04)Milo suggests using tools to provide data to stakeholders and engage them in planning processes for future impact.Digital forestry (1.17.25)Robert believes we are at the cusp of a revolution in forest management with artificial intelligence and big data.Managing for all values (1.26.35)Wood is easily monetized, but not wildlife habitat, clean air, clean water, and aesthetic vistas, so wood has become the dominant value. Adaptive management (1.39.12)The excitement and desire to do better will help foresters learn emergent skills to operate effectively. Strategic objectives (1.43.37)Daniel believes foresters need to communicate better with the public so the green line isn’t a moving target.