Exactly what is "unsafe" logging? There are certainly many opinions on the fine points of what defines unsafe logging but there is also a common fundamental found in any interpretation: harvesting timber without regard to the environment or the local community is unsafe.
The following are some logging procedures that when executed improperly have negative impacts on the local community and the environment:
1) The harvesting of timber from environmentally sensitive areas. The removal of selected timber from a heavily forested area that has seen little development around it and where the ecosystem has not changed significantly for some time can be done without adversely effecting the ecosystem balance. On the other hand, in areas where this balance is on the verge of collapse, such as endangered species habitat, suburban wetlands, coastal rain forests, etc., the removal of even one tree can have a definitely adverse impact. Removal of a shade tree over a deep salmon pool will causing the air and stream temperatures to rise and may render the pool uninhabitable for the salmon which normally live there. An old growth redwood tree, home to several families of the endangered marbled murrelet, may be cut down, severely impacting the murrelet population. With the advance of human development more and more critical habitats for endangered species will be destroyed. We must pay strict attention to these areas and act to responsibly manage their resources.
2) Road building and maintenance.
To harvest timber in any wilderness area the timber companies or in many cases the U.S. Forest Service itself must build and maintain roads. The result of building a road in a wilderness area is obvious: the wilderness is no longer wild. R.V's, four wheel drive vehicles, and logging trucks may all utilize the road and in so doing cause the road to deteriorate rapidly. With rain the roads are frequently turned into silt machines. Tons of silt are added to the in-stream environment in merely one day of heavy rain. This results in the destruction of critical fish habitat and in the flooding of many downstream communities. This costs the public in both a financial and environmental way.
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