Change Takes Time
"Roundabout Sign" by TireZoo is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Guest Column Article for Alpena News by Dr. Greg Corace of the Alpena-Montmorency Conservation District
I was recently reminded how long it takes for concepts that challenge the status quo to take hold. It was during a drive through the western United States when I encountered new roundabouts on roads that I had driven many times.
These encounters brought up memories of my first experience with a roundabout.
It was 1994, the same year Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa, and I was a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer teaching chemistry and biology at Matsha College in Kang, Botswana. I had been living in the Kalahari for about a year when I took a vacation to see Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.
Packed into a tiny rental car, I found myself sitting on the right side, using my left hand on the manual transmission, and driving on the “British” side of the road. All new to me.
I then encountered my first roundabout in the Botswana capital of Gaborone. I was in over my head.
Around and around, I went.
After probably 30 seconds and 3 complete circles (it felt like hours), I finally exited and made my way north. I had come to grips with my first roundabout.
Now, 30 years later, I was encountering new roundabouts in parts of this country that had never seen them before. I had to go to southern Africa to experience something that took decades for transportation planners in this country to accept. Or, it simply took that long to implement good ideas.
Regardless, change in human behavior takes time.
In a similar manner it takes time for evidence-based concepts in forest and wildlife management to take hold. While the science involved in both disciplines develops continually, incorporation of new knowledge into management actions lags. There are many reasons for this, including the disconnect between scientists and land managers and the lack of appreciation of research done elsewhere and on different ecosystem types.
For instance, traditional forest management methods were developed in the early 20th century to specifically meet the needs of a growing economy. Agricultural models were used to guide early forest management, with trees viewed as crops. Under contemporary scrutiny, these traditional techniques have been shown to simplify forests and not maintain the complexity that is needed for multiple landowner goals, biodiversity maintenance, and climate change adaptation.
Research conducted at Michigan Technological University illustrated the above with data that indicated single tree selection in northern hardwood ecosystems reduced forest diversity and complexity (2007, Northern Journal of Applied Forestry, v24, pg. 197+). The relatively small canopy gaps created by this 20th-century silvicultural treatment tended to promote only tree species that grow under lower light conditions, such as sugar maple. Tree species needing more sunlight, such as yellow birch and black cherry, were not provided either the appropriate light or soil surface conditions.
To address the need to maintain or restore tree species diversity and overall forest complexity, newer approaches, such as variable retention harvesting, have been developed (see Variable retention (silviculture) - Wikipedia). Variable retention harvesting creates irregularly sized and shaped openings in which tree species of different shade tolerance can regenerate, if a seed source is present and ungulate browse is minimal. These and other strategies for biodiversity maintenance and climate change adaptation are nested under the broader concept of “ecological forestry” (see [Nova Scotia Forests]. (2023, April 18). An Introduction to Ecological Forestry and the Family Forest Network [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p19VIes-Sko) which represents a relatively new approach to forest management.
Forest and wildlife management are arts, guided by science. When one understands what science is, how it imperfectly strives for objectivity, and the role that science plays in management, it becomes apparent that natural resource management is a working hypothesis. No management is perfect, but some management is more grounded in contemporary science.
As knowledge of a dynamic world changes, our management likewise needs to change. Nothing is static.
But change in human behavior takes time.
Dr. Greg Corace is the forest and wildlife ecologist for the Alpena-Montmorency Conservation District. For more information, including assistance with the Qualified Forest Program and related forest planning and management, email Greg: greg.corace@macd.org.
