Hiding reality only fuels our urban mass-consumption society's misperception that building materials, furniture and paper products appear out of thin air, as if by magic. Information, engineering and the application of technology make useful things appear in our lives. By reconnecting people to the sources of things they use, we enable them to make informed choices. We must take from life to live, while putting back to provide for future generations. Technology makes Sustainable Forestry and Forest Ecosystem Management possible.
Foresters manage large landscapes over long time horizons.
They write silvicultural prescriptions to keep forests healthy, just as physicians prescribe to keep patients healthy. These silvicultural prescriptions often require thinning of overstocked and stagnated stands of trees, to reduce the threat of fire, insects and disease. Since trees compete for sunlight, water and nutrients, proactive forest management is needed to reduce stress, prevent stagnation and maintain forest health. Fortunately a wide variety of sophisticated instruments and machinery are available to carry out the foresters' prescriptions. We can extract commodities from the forest while protecting all the other values including habitat, recreation, aesthetics, soils and water.