> The idea is to preserve as many slow growing trees as we can... We need to manage forests wisely. I'm in the Northern Rockies, so I only know about pines, b

> The idea is to preserve as many slow growing trees as we can... We need to manage forests wisely. I'm in the Northern Rockies, so I only know about pines, but preserving as many as we can isn't healthy. When they are packed too tight they aren't healthy. Their growth and structure is weak from competition and they are more susceptible to disease and insects. I've seen whole forests wiped out by bark beetles. On my own land, we selectively logged, removing some of the larger trees or infested trees, thinning many smaller trees and sometimes just pulling out many saplings. Since then I've noticed the remaining trees putting on more growth and looking healthier overall. What happened to the logs? All the larger ones went to a mill. Someone at a big box improvement store can buy some wood and build shelves. They can sequester some carbon right in their own home. I see such a negative, almost knee jerk reaction (not you specifically, but in general) to cutting down a tree that I wish people could come live where trees are weeds. I love the forest, I live in it and want it to be healthy, but it takes management and that means some trees need to be put to use doing something besides storing carbon. Carbon credits or not, increasing the number of acres of healthy forest is always a good thing.