Frank Nicklason
It seems clear that this low level of forest retention will be regarded by these scientists as insufficient as the impact of climate change is increasingly felt in years to come.
Dear Editor
I attended the recent talk given by Canadian forester Bill Beese on the subject of “variable retention” as an alternative to clearfelling.
Mr Beese was affable and knowledgeable and gave the welcome news that enhanced training and safety practices have lead to a dramatic reduction in workplace accidents since the new harvesting approaches have been adopted.
Michael Stedman in a recent Sunday Tasmanian did not mention that the amount of retention of natural forest is rather disappointingly low at 10-30% of the original forest and that losses due to windthrow are a big problem.
Global warming is the great international environmental challenge of our time and climate scientists now understand the crucial role of native forests in regulating the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
It seems clear that this low level of forest retention will be regarded by these scientists as insufficient as the impact of climate change is increasingly felt in years to come.
Dr Frank Nicklason
West Hobart
