Don timber companies replant the areas they cut?
Yes…BUT replanting trees does not make a forest. The impacts of clearcutting on forest biodiversity far exceed what replanting seedling trees can repair. One of the most signifcant, and often overlooked, impacts of industrial clearcutting is the irreparable damage done to the soil. Healthy soil is integral to rebuilding healthy, productive, biodiverse forests. Clearcutting takes more than trees from a forest; it destroys the habitat upon which countless creatures depend. That habitat represents a complex web of life that cannot be replaced by simply replanting trees. Furthermore, trees managed under short rotations (areas repeatedly clearcut, replanted, and clearcut again) cannot support that intricate web of life. Studies in Redwood Parks have found it takes 1 million seedling to get one ancient tree.
