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Hi Tuma & All, July 6, 2013
Thanks for the explanation. My interest in this is to learn how much =
bark damage a White Birch can tolerate. I had been told, as a kid, to =
never remove all of the outer bark layers from any part of the trunk =
because that would kill the tree. I had suspected that this was seldom =
the case but have never bothered to put it to the test.
Do you find that White Birch can usually tolerate removal of 2' of =
outer bark from the entire circumference ? My hunch, from general =
observation, is that the white outer bark is especially useful near and =
just above maximum snow level to protect the cambium from sun-scald. I =
have seen Red Maple regrowth with serious sun-scald damage to knee =
height while Birch (sometimes brown at that age) had no scald. In like =
vein, some of the steep S & SW facing screes in Cape Breton are (or were =
55 years ago) almost pure White Birch stands.
In most second-growth woods, IMHO, loss of a tree tree here and =
there is no big deal and in fact is usually positive. The suckers of =
hardwoods are favorite deer salad and adjacent trees get a new lease on =
life whenever any large tree is removed. Logging, even clearcut logging =
is harmless relative to the relatively permanent damage caused by =
construction of massive highway systems, parking lots and one-level =
shopping centers. Parking lots could be much more environment and =
lot-user friendly if they had porous pavement & 40 trees per acre. The =
sometimes terrible damage to waterways caused by large clearcuts could =
be almost entirely avoided if no more than 20% of a watershed could be =
cut per decade.
=20
Our misuse of natural resources can be accounted for if one assumes =
that policy as well as advocacy by Environmentalists is based on advice =
supplied by a Slime Mold brain; underfed and seldom watered. Either that =
or a Committee Based System.
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
=20
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Tuma Young=20
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
Sent: Saturday, July 06, 2013 9:12 AM
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] birch bark harvesting ad /"marker trees"
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:
Just past Whycocomagh there is a little park on the right, the white =
birch there are all cut vertically with a powersaw.
Culturally Modified Trees?
------------------------------------------------------------
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
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.
On 2013-07-05, at 7:59 AM, nancy dowd < nancypdowd@gmail.com> =
wrote:
The following text of an ad on p.10 of Northern Woodlands =
magazine (Summer '13) caught my attention:=20
"It's white birch bark harvest season! We need to buy bark =
from thousands of trees in June and July!"=20
From the contact email I tracked down the company website:=20
http://www.birchbarkvt.com/=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
Nancy
=20
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July 6, 2013</FONT></D