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The Rural Voice, 2002-10, Page 33says he thanks him and suggests he go to some other logger. "It's difficult," he admits, since many timber buyers claim if you can't drive up and down the backroads and bid on bushes the margins are so thin that you won't turn a profit. But "sooner or later you have to draw the line in the sand," says Keeso who buys much of his timber from woodlots that have been professionally marked as part of a management plan. "It's more of a moral issue." Members of the study team gee the health of woodlots as a continuing problem as long as the minimum diameter allowed under tree cutting bylaws becomes, in effect, the maximum size of tree remaining in the woodlot following a cut. The opportunity to change that trend was lost in Huron County says Keeso when a new tree bylaw was passed which maintained a minimum diameter system for determining which tree sizes could be cut and which couldn't. When initial discussions began on the bylaw three years ago, county officials were looking at a minimum basal area requirement which would have assured that there was a diversity of trees left in the woodlot after a cut because it would have been higher than could be reached by a diameter - limit cut. But the proposal for basal area limits was an early victim of the consultation process. "A lot of us in the industry don't understand it (the concept)," says Keeso. Steele admits that calculating the basal area seems complicated but he found out while doing the study that it wasn't very difficult at all. Bowles agrees that the basal area system is really quite 'easy. It's just measuring the number of large trees left in the area when logging is completed, she says. But diameter cutting seems easier to enforce, she says. The tree inspector can just. measure the stumps remaining and make sure none are smaller than the bylaw allows. Landowners to are attracted to the simpler system because it takes more skill to mark a forest for good Maitland Valley Conservation Authority Financial and technical support. A Assistance with the development of planting plans and maintenance guidelines. A Call us at 519 335-3557 for information and application forms. TREE PLANTING SERVICES Reforestation Assistance Service - Seedlings This service provides assistance to land- owners who are reforesting marginal lands or planting field windbreaks. Our experienced staff will assist you in choosing species and creating a planting plan. Plant your own seedlings or have us do the planting for you. Roadside & Windbreak Tree Service This service offers larger trees for planting along roadsides and in windbreaks. A variety of tree species are available from the MVCA based on a 50 tree minimum order. Call us today for information on the application deadline for this service. Maitland Valley Conservation Authority Box 127, Wroxeter, Ont. NOG 2X0 519 335 3557 Fax 519 335 3516 Working for a Healthy Environment Your HOME Your OFFICE u= LANDMARK BUILDERS has the experience and expertise to design and construct any building to the highest standards...yours. You could have a building, or you could have a IANDMARK BUILDERS • Design Builders • Project Managers • General Contractors LANDMARK BUILDERS Phone : (519) 364-3609 485 6th Ave. Hanover, ON www.landmarkbuilders.ca OCTOBER 2002 29