There
was a time when Australian foresters kept Australian forests safe and
productive. They maintained access tracks bridges and fire breaks,
undertook prescribed burning, cleared flammable litter from the forest
floor, cut suckers, manned fire lookouts, and maintained their own
fire-fighting crews in decentralized districts. University-trained
professional foresters were supported by tough, experienced rangers who
learned their job in the bush.
Almost
every advance in bush fire management in Australia, from the science of
fire behavior to aerial burning, was thanks to our foresters. Into the
1980s, they were regarded as international leaders.
To
pay for good forest management, sections of the forest were logged,
allowing ground space and sunlight for the swift re-growth of new trees.
And
those fading die-hards still beating alarm drums about man-made global
warming should be reassured — the use of hardwood and softwood timber in
power poles, telephone poles, bridges, wharves, posts, sleepers, hay sheds, and houses provided long-term sequestration of the dreaded
carbon. Moreover, growing trees extract CO2 more quickly than mature
trees. Win, win, win.
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