•	The attention to detail is impressive
•	It has been carried out in the right seasons
•	There is very little damage and where there has been some, repairs have been undertaken with care and attention

•	Falling and skidding have been good
•	There is some residual damage which is to be expected in dense stands but it is minimal
•	Tree selection is good

•	The plans for monitoring and photo points are very good

However, he did caution Parks not to clean up or burn too much. He said there is a need to be ‘messy’ with big fallen tree structures. By holding water and ultimately decaying into soil, these fallen trees are the foundation for future forests. They create conditions for mycorrhizal fungi which are critical to keep the system working. He pointed out that it takes 1000 years to create one inch of soil.

He said some damage to standing trees was inevitable, particularly in dense stands. However,  trees repair themselves as bark grows over their wounds. Where damage is more extensive, these parts of the tree provide future nesting opportunities and in large cavities and broken tops even pine marten may use them as dens.

Future Treatments
Finally, priority treatments for the future should include:

•	Fire
•	Hotspots of Douglas fir bark beetles
•	Diversification – which will build knowledge

•	The need for control sites
•	Maintain areas already treated
•	The need for a future landscape plan involving natural variability

Other important facts that Herb touched on:

•	A need for ‘anchors’ in the treated area around which to build composition and structure e.g. particularly large Douglas Firs and openings in the forest
•	It is necessary to get diversity into the system – holes are needed in the forest but also denser patches and a whole range of species. There is a diversity in parks but not in managed forests.
•	Wherever you leave openings you get an explosion of grasses and more of them may be needed here – as they were in indigenous stewardship times

•	The time factor is important in planning the future landscape. Not too fast or too slow otherwise you may get unanticipated results. Look at what the composition would have been in the past. This is a learning process. If done too fast it won’t give you time to evaluate the ecological responses.

Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendoctronus ponderosae)
Herb urged caution on the mountain pine beetle. We’ve created the situation with climate change and fire suppression. The small treatments against this beetle around Jasper won’t have any effect on the outbreak. It is not possible to stop it.

Thinning trees will create healthier trees and healthy trees produce olio resin that is toxic to beetles. Maintaining diversity is also very important against the beetle: Douglas fir and pine, spruce and pine and large clones of aspen and pine.  Patches of old growth forest are important: they are full of carnivorous insects which will attack pine beetles if they have to pass through them.

Outside the park are huge areas of planted pine forests – monocultures that are an open invitation to mountain pine beetles.

Douglas Fir Bark Beetle (Dendoctronus pseudotsugae)
The Douglas fir bark beetle is the same genus as the pine beetle but seldom becomes epidemic. It is fussier than the pine beetle and prefers weak trees. Douglas firs need good soil moisture: it is important: to remove the smaller trees around them so the firs can gain strength.

Big fallen Douglas firs are warm on the ground for the first year or so and provide a good breeding place for the bark beetles. After 2 or 3 years they lose their cambium layer and the beetles lose their food source.

Aspens (Populus tremuloides)
Aspens are excellent soil conditioners. They raise the PH level of the soil and create ‘humusification’ promoting better growth in vegetation. Broken aspens provide cavities for nesting birds and fallen aspens build soil. Aspen groves make important ‘anchors’. A mix of aspen groves and conifer patches in the landscape is important.

Recently, Herb has been working with Dennis Martinez, founder and chair of the Indigenous Peoples' Restoration Network who firmly believes that we need a ‘kincentric’ rather than an anthropocentric view of nature. Indigenous people practiced carefully thought-out stewardship of areas. They managed through fire but also through ecocultural restoration for a range of natural variability. They had a respectful relationship with the land.

Herb pointed out that scientists like himself were trained to separate their hearts from their heads. He feels there is a need to forget this and to use one’s intuition. Intuition is important in all animals as ‘instinct’.

Herb concluded his remarks with the warning that there is no such thing as a "fireproof" forest.

BIBLIOGRAPHY | CREDITS | WEB DESIGN | CONTACT US | SITE MAP