Controversy
Ecologists regard the variable retention method of harvesting as being far less detrimental to the forest ecosystem than clearcutting. However, opponents claim that variable retention is much more laborious, tedious, time-consuming and expensive than clearcutting.
Forestry organizations, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), approve of variable retention and are now declaring timber obtained through such a harvesting method as certified wood for green building. Many forest operations in the Canadian province of British Columbia, including MacMillan Bloedel, use the variable retention method to harvest timber in the temperate rain forests along the Pacific coast.
Many logging companies have not maintained a total commitment to phasing out clearcutting and embracing variable retention harvesting, and even MacMillan Bloedel had occasionally fallen short of its commitment to phase out clearcutting. Although world markets are beginning to ask for certified wood obtained entirely through variable retention harvesting, it is not yet clear whether the general population of consumers will be willing to pay higher prices for such wood.
Read more about this topic: Variable Retention
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