[NatureNS] birch bark harvesting ad /"marker trees"

From: Tuma Young <tumayoung@yahoo.ca>
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2013 09:12:40 -0300
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website says nothing about the safety to the trees (or lack thereof) of th

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The Mi'kmaq way of harvesting is to take the outer bark and only a =
portion of the bark from the living tree.  If the tree is dead on the =
ground then all of the bark can be taken (usually for canoes).  For =
"craft" ( I use the term Art ) or medicinal purposes, you would only =
take about a foot or two of bark.  Never more and again it is of the =
outer bark.  The tree continues to live on but you can see where the =
bark has been taken off.=20

Mr. Abolit:  A culturally modified tree is one that has had parts of it =
used by humans but remain alive but it shows how the humans have used =
it.  Trees cut vertically with a powersaw do not show how the tree were =
used by humans.  Perhaps it is a form of blazing that could have been =
done by anyone.  Based on your brief description, I would say that it =
would not qualify as Mi'kmaq CMT's but was some sort of vandalism.

I don't worry too much about birch bark harvesting and whether it can =
kill the tree or not.  The logging, electricity, construction, pulp & =
paper industry are more efficient at killing trees. Now if you can =
excuse me, I have to go check the local flyers if there are any sales of =
2X4's at the local lumber stores plus I need to pick up some Kleenex =
tissues, paper towels and toilet paper for the house.

Tuma=20




On 2013-07-05, at 11:28 PM, darrell@abolitphotos.ca wrote:

> =20
> =20
> Just past Whycocomagh there is a little park on the right, the white =
birch there are all cut vertically with a powersaw.
> =20
> Culturally Modified Trees?
> =20
> =20
> =20
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> =20
>=20
>=20
> On Fri, 5 Jul 2013 14:20:23 -0300 (ADT), Dusan Soudek =
<soudekd@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
> Tuma,
>    is there a tradition among the Mi'kmaq of  "marker trees?"  Or a =
cultural memory of such trees?  Such culturally modified trees had their =
trunks partially broken, usually at two locations, with the result that =
the trees remained alive but with a Z-shaped trunk. There are all kinds =
of references to "marker trees" on the internet, but they are almost all =
from the U.S....=20
>   Dusan Soudek
>=20
> On July 5, 2013 at 1:32 PM Tuma Young <tumayoung@me.com> wrote:
>> The Mi'kmaq have been harvesting birch bark for thousands of years =
for wide variety of uses and there is a method in which you use to =
properly peel the bark without killing the tree.  In fact, I will be =
going out this weekend to harvest bark to make birchbark oil that is =
used by traditional Mi'kmaq healers.  Generally speaking the tree =
suffers no damage and quickly heals.   Trees that have been harvested =
are  called CMT's (Culturally Modified Trees) by researchers and this =
also applies to longer growing species.  CMT's have recently become the =
subject of archaeological and anthropological research in BC.  Locations =
where CMT's are found have formed the basis for protection against =
logging, clear cutting or biomass harvesting.
>> =20
>>=20
>> On 2013-07-05, at 7:59 AM, nancy dowd < nancypdowd@gmail.com> wrote:
>>=20
>>> The following text of an ad on p.10 of Northern Woodlands magazine =
(Summer '13) caught my attention:=20
>>>=20
>>> "It's white birch bark harvest season! We need to buy bark from =
thousands of trees in June and July!"=20
>>>=20
>>> =46rom the contact email I tracked down the company website:=20
>>> http://www.birchbarkvt.com/=20
>>>=20
>>> I though stripping birch bark from trees would kill the tree. The =
website says nothing about the safety to the trees (or lack thereof) of =
this activity.=20
>>>=20
>>> Nancy
> =20


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<html><head><meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html =
charset=3Dus-ascii"><base href=3D"x-msg://17/"></head><body =
style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; =
-webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">The Mi'kmaq way of harvesting =
is to take the outer bark and only a portion of the bark from the living =
tree. &nbsp;If the tree is dead on the ground then all of the bark can =
be taken (usually for canoes). &nbsp;For "craft" ( I use the term Art ) =
or medicinal purposes, you would only take about a foot or two of bark. =
&nbsp;Never more and again it is of the outer bark. &nbsp;The tree =
continues to live on but you can see where the bark has been taken =
off.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div>Mr. Abolit: &nbsp;A culturally modified =
tree is one that has had parts of it used by humans but remain alive but =
it shows how the humans have used it. &nbsp;Trees cut vertically with a =
powersaw do not show how the tree were used by humans. &nbsp;Perhaps it =
is a form of blazing that could have been done by anyone. &nbsp;Based on =
your brief description, I would say that it would not qualify as Mi'kmaq =
CMT's but was some sort of vandalism.</div><div><br></div><div>I don't =
worry too much about birch bark harvesting and whether it can kill the =
tree or not. &nbsp;The logging, electricity, construction, pulp &amp; =
paper industry are more efficient at killing trees. Now if you can =
excuse me, I have to go check the local flyers if there are any sales of =
2X4's at the local lumber stores plus I need to pick up some Kleenex =
tissues, paper towels and toilet paper for the =
house.</div><div><br></div><div>Tuma&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div><br></=
div><div><div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>On 2013-07-05, at 11:28 =
PM, darrell@abolitphotos.ca=
 wrote:</div><br class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote =
type=3D"cite"><div style=3D"font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; =
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; =
letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: =
-webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: =
normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;