Natural Selection

Natural Selection is the process that occurs all the time in both the plant and animal kingdoms, weeding out those of weak constitution, the sick, the very young and the very old, through the agents of weather, predators, or disease. By so doing the plants and animals left, with the stamina to withstand the disturbance, live on to pass their genes onto the next generation, thereby strengthening and adapting populations, to the conditions “that be”.

How we came upon and chose Natural Selection for doing Ecoforestry

After extensive traveling throughout the NW for 2 years and video taping and interviewing foresters, Natural Selection Ecoforestry was the method we decided to ground-truth on our forest, because it seemed nearest to Nature. We had begun our quest to answer the un-asked question of the environmental community I was in, which was trying to stop logging in old growth, “How did we want loggers to log?”. Not that I wanted to come back with a way for loggers to keep logging the last existing Old Growth. But I was looking for an Environmentally sensitive way to log forests already used for wood. And Natural Selection Ecoforestry, it turned out, provided something even better than I had dreamed of. It promises, that if carried out, will restore working forest, to their Old Growth state. And in that Old Growth, is the old growth we could continue doing Natural Selection logging, in.

I want to acknowledge we incorporated many other things that practicioners taught us that complimented this approach. The ability to “stand on the shoulders” of those who had gone before us gave us a rare perspective. We are grateful to these path breakers.

The founder of Natural Selection Ecoforestry, Orville Camp, bases his approach to forestry on the natural selection process of Nature. The idea is to allow Nature to manage the forest and keep one’s self from interfering in the outcome. Signs that trees display will give away what naturally is going to happen next. By ourselves only making choices, according to what the signs are indicating, the natural flow of the ecosystem can keep its present successional direction, and develop into the next stage. According to this approach, the trees that Nature selects out as unhealthy are the only ones considered for harvest. The healthy and vibrant trees are left to reproduce the structure and genetic base of the forest.

Orville bases all he professes on the fact that time has proven Nature’s way is an environmental success. He doesn’t wait until a tree is dying or dead, for removal, if he has a market for it. He says it could take a tree that is selected out by Nature, as much as 150 years to actually die.

The growth rate of the removed tree is transferred to the remaining trees. Thus Natural Selection is green tree removal. To address having enough dead and dying trees to support wildlife habitat he leaves the injured trees. These have little market value, but great value for wildlife. He leaves all the branches and other debris behind to support the wildlife and soil, which also eliminates removal cost for him. We also leave some of the naturally selected out trees, too.

The wild birds, animals, insects, fish and microbes are the check and balance system in the forest, preventing any one of them from becoming a pest. Traditional forest practices get these forest members out of balance and man must step into the role of protecting trees from their natural enemies with pesticides. A healthy wildlife component cycles nutrients through the forest system, by their own food habits and eventual demise back into the soil. This builds soil fertility and enhances root uptake of water and nutrients of all vegetation.

By going at Nature’s speed with tree removal, the forest’s climate remains unchanged. The associated native species are not impaired or lost. Since climate determines what can grow and live there, this leaves the habitat intact for all the wildlife species related to that community. These constants leave the soil undisturbed allowing its sponge-like and filtration properties to continue. In this way, the highest quantity of good quality water is held and absorbed by the ground before running off.

Economy is increased for humans through this natural method. There are no down times in the forest. Each year there are new things that have been selected out. By going at Nature’s pace things don’t get over-harvested.

A Natural Selection managed forest is secondarily supported by a minimum sized contour access road system to get products out. Orville Camp has perfected a road system essential to the environmental sensitivity and economy of Ecoforestry that allows forestry entry in any season.

Not only are there robust populations of many diverse plant and animal species in a natural forest, but economically, they all have value: conifers, hardwoods, medicinals, craft material plants, floral greens, mushrooms, wild edibles, herbs, hunting and fishing, and plants significant for indigenous spiritual practices.

Orville has found that the way to compete economically with current commercial practices of clear cutting, is to avoid the accompanying cost of reforestation. In most selection methods, this is done free of charge by the forest. What is different in the Natural Selection forest is this: from the time a seed falls on the ground, it starts going through natural selection processes determining whether it can germinate and grow under existing conditions. The conditions on the ground determine the canopy trees of the future forest. The ones that can’t germinate won’t be able to pass their genes onto the future. The successful seed that makes it through all the subsequent life stages up to canopy dominance, will be that forest’s best gene base. In other selection methods, the forester will step in and modify conditions so one tree species (usually one of greatest commercial value) makes it over another, so the forest becomes what the forester desires for its future condition, rather than Nature.

In Natural Selection management, just as in evolution, all associated species attain their optimum coverage, diversity and biomass production that the landscape is capable of sustaining. The combination of everything working in harmony makes for ever increasing net worth, ecologically and economically.