Environmental Sustainability of Timber Supply

G'day experts!

As I've travelled and worked throughout the UK during these past five years or so, I fear that I've completely failed to come to terms with the basic issue of sustainability in the UK timber supply chain:

Just how long can we keep chipping and chopping away at English Oak before the supply is either exhausted or irreperably buggered up for future generations?

In my quest for answers I've approached foresters, government agencies, gameskeepers, loggers, estate managers....blah, blah, blah, and what I find bewildering is that the majority of these fine folk appear to be just as curious about the issue as I am.

So, abandoning the more traditional avenues of investigation...I turn at last to my bearded-brethren! What do we as timber framers feel are the inside and outside parameters of timber sustainability here in the UK? Should we use our considerable influence over the UK sawmilling industry to effect slow-but-sure change in the way that oak is selected, extracted and broken down? Do timber framers have a responsibility to ensure that sensible and sustainable replanting always follows our harvest of the forest?

My own opinion, for what it's worth, is that we (timber framers) as consumers must shoulder the responsibility of our demand upon Britain's limitted forestry resources. In effect, we are all defacto stewards of these resources...and we should bloody well behave ourselves, or risk the loss of this magnificent inheritence.

What do the rest of ya think?

Dear Gordon,

Most of the English Oak that you and others are using is currently obtained from France and also from the former soviet block countries.

I don't really think that you need to spend to much time worrying about sustainability issues since as a user you are really unable to control felling decisions which are made on the basis of many and complex criteria.

No two woodlot owners will make his or her decision to fell based on the same criteria.


Regards

Ken Hume

No Indeed...in fact we (Carpenter Oak & Woodland where I work) are not the only UK timber framing company to specify (and strictly monitor) only UK-grown oak for our frames. (We do occasionally buy curves from France, and particularily after the last great storm in France there was a lot of very good quality and environmentally-sane timber available there.) It's true that many framers here are currently buying from the lowest common denominator suppliers...and good quality oak is arriving from Slovakia, Poland, France, and etc...at very reasonable prices too. But I think (with respect) that this is to miss the point...

My posting was in a sense rhetorical, as I believe that we should of course take a greater responsibility for our the effect that we have on the hardwood industry (as I'm sure you can tell from my posting). I'm interested in learning what other framers think...and I pose the question about our role as 'stewards' to foster discussion. How much oak is really out there...how should we regard it (as inexhaustable or as a rapidly dwindling resource)? Should we accept responsibility for the resource? Can we effect changes to hardwood forestry in the UK? Should we be planting more young trees, and indeed, do we have a responsibility to plant more young trees? Etc. etc.

How long have there been timberframers in England? And they aint got it all yet? Guess thats cuz trees grow back, huh? Just like lawn. Just a dumb a
American here I guess, Buck