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Hello David,
You are quite right that it can be difficult to change the mind of any of u=
s who have a fixed opinion on something and have not been able to study the=
question in the field.
I'm not sure that anyone has claimed that ancient woodland is the best ty=
pe of cover - certainly it is not if you are a moose. What most conservati=
onists and naturalists seek is a good diversity of the forest types and sta=
ges naturally occurring in a given area, since each stage and type has tree=
s, shrubs, herbaceous plants, birds and other animals adapted to it. All t=
hese stages are important to ensure biological diversity and to protect thr=
eatened species. Old-growth forests may have less diversity of species th=
an some others (edge habitats usually have the most diversity), but for tho=
se that live there they are essential, and our focus needs to be on protect=
ing them because they are the most endangered forest ecosystems here and th=
ey take the longest to regenerate. Certainly there is no shortage of the e=
arly forest stages preferred by deer and moose. It seems that our forest m=
anagers are making some effort to see that "harvested" areas grow back to a=
sort of forest that will provide more fibre in the shortest time but have =
little or no interest in allowing it to grow to subsequent successional sta=
ges or ensuring that all forest types are represented. I'll leave it to th=
e forest ecologists on the list to give more details if they wish.
Wayne P. Neily
Tremont, Kings Co., Nova Scotia
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost, 1923 [Stopping by Woods on=
a Snowy Evening]
"Think globally, Act locally." - Ren=E9 Dubos, 1972.
________________________________
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca <naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca> on beha=
lf of David <dwebster@glinx.com>
Sent: October 22, 2017 21:14
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Cc: David Webster
Subject: [NatureNS] observation and dogma
Hello All,
While clearing some junk out of the basement recently I came across a g=
ear which I made from scraps, decades before e-mail,(~1975 ?) for stereosco=
pic viewing of air photos. It consisted of two mirrors held 7" apart in sl=
ots cut at a 45 degree angle in thin boards, one mirror facing up & one dow=
n. A low table lamp is required so that the portion of air photo below the =
down facing mirror is illuminated.
In use, the area of interest was placed below the down facing mirror an=
d a full size image would then appear in the up facing mirror. For purposes=
of visualization let the down facing mirror be on the left. The correspond=
ing area of the second air photo would then be placed one eye spacing to th=
e right of the up facing mirror. If the photos are arranged with edges para=
llel then the whole assembly can be moved around without adjustment.
For viewing I used two cheap reading lenses about 2" in diameter. Tilt=
ing one or both a bit, one over the up mirror, one over the right air photo=
enabled fine distance adjustment for stereoscopic viewing.
With this long preamble out of the way, and with likely most naturenser=
s reading something else, I can now get to the point.
A few years after I joined Naturens the subject of expensive stereoscop=
ic viewers came up and I mentioned having designed and made this device fro=
m disposables.
Observation: it worked fine even for those who had never previously see=
n stereoscopic images of air photos.
Dogma: someone chimed in with the objection "that can't possibly work."
I have noticed this conflict between observation and dogma many times o=
n Naturens, especially in recent posts with respect to Old Growth and wildl=
ife e.g Moose. Over the years I have walked over a lot of woodland, sometim=
es for hunting but mostly for the fun of seeing what was over the next rise=
etc. And without exception, woodland of large widely spaced trees is count=
ry either avoided by animals or crossed in a bee line. Disturbed cover, on =
the other hand, clearcut or selectively cut by human, by wind throw or by S=
pruce Budworm quickly become more alive. Former Beaver desert became Beaver=
heaven when the Budworm killed Fir and Spruce and generated space for hard=
wood thickets. Twenty or so suckers which sprouted from the stump of a larg=
e Ash which I cut January 2017 were gnawed to stubs by July.
Just a rhetorical question but I wonder how someone comes to the conclu=
sion that ancient woodland is the best possible type of cover ?
YT, DW, Kentville
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<p>Hello David,</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>You are quite right that it can be difficult to change the mind of any o=
f us who have a fixed opinion on something and have not been able=
to study the question in the field.
</p>
<p> I'm not sure that anyone has claimed that ancient woodland is the=
best type of cover - certainly it is not if you are a moose. What mo=
st conservationists and naturalists seek is a good diversity of the forest =
types and stages naturally occurring in a
given area, since each stage and type has trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants=
, birds and other animals adapted to it. All these stages are importa=
nt to ensure biological diversity and to protect threatened species. &=
nbsp; Old-growth forests may have less diversity
of species than some others (edge habitats usually have the most diversity=
), but for those that live there they are essential, and our focus needs to=
be on protecting them because they are the most endangered forest ecosyste=
ms here and they take the longest
to regenerate. Certainly there is no shortage of the early forest st=
ages preferred by deer and moose. It seems that our forest managers a=
re making some ef