Dear Editor,

Concerning Robert Wills’ letter in the Oct. 7 issue of THE EQUITY about forestry and plantations in the Pontiac, scotch pine trees were planted to create natural windbreaks and to be harvested as Christmas trees. It takes approximately ten years of pruning and maintenance to produce . . .

a desirable Christmas tree. Some landowners neglected getting that work done and a lot of those plantations grew into the ugly mess Mr. Wills refers to in his letter.

Red pine plantations were successful in producing logs and pulpwood and a few of the best ones grew trees straight and tall enough to be used for hydro poles. One plantation where I conducted thinning operations produced one truck load of hydro poles that sold for more money than the four loads of logs cut from the lower grade trees. The next harvest of that plantation will produce several loads of larger, longer hydro poles that sell at even higher prices.

Where it is a plantation, a woodlot of a large tract of forest, good management and prudent harvesting will provide a renewable, sustainable source of wood products while protecting the ecosystem that makes wood production possible. Neglect and destructive harvesting greatly diminishes the future potential of any forested area.

Garnet Stephens

Clarendon, Que.