Our forests may be sold off

[loripo]

Supposedly to make up for the countries cash deficit...
Huge areas of woodland to be sold by government - UK Politics, UK - The Independent

Not even our homeland will belong us if this goes ahead. Mad, mad, mad!

[Ukwildlifeo]

Stupid, short sighted and ignorant - should be the new governments slogan. (not that the old one was any better).

The way things are going if a nature reserve is not owned by a wildlife charity it will be a golf course within a few years...

[Dogghound]

I believe that they are going to sell off areas of woodland to different land managers, I dont think this means its all going to get cut down. It could be a good thing, if it is managed for tourists, sports etc then habitat changes could be good. Large amounts of forests are monoculture pines with little biodiversity anyway, if done correctly you could easily boost nightjar and tree pipit numbers. I think we would have to wait and see what happens in the coming years.

[stigofthedump]

Sorry but I hear alarm bells ringing when I hear such things.
My wholesale fear is for places like Kielder Forest, a working forest but with wildlife playing a priority role, economics playing second fiddle.

Not good news.

[Farplace]

I worry about places like Kielder Forest, Sherwood Forest and other similar areas. They are a much needed oasis for wildlife and for human recreation. At least I know that my little area of woodland is safe, as we will not sell it..... but it is only a few acres. Nothing compared to the vast acreage of places like keilder. I hope the Powers That Be see sense before it is too late.

[Dogghound]

Im sure some of the forests mentioned must be protected, some of these are heritage sites. I think its more likely that the pine plantations once planted for commercial use will be effected.

[stigofthedump]

Again Doghound I feel a little unsure of this proposal, I, and indeed many others, have been looking for some hope of Pine Marten re-colonisation 'Up ere' Making forestry plantations just an economic interest.... sorry not for me!


Vince

[brendaward]

I thought that most of the pine plantations were owned by the private land owners. Does that mean that the ones that we currently own as a nation and can walk or drive through might have Tolls or pay booths like parts of Dolby forest?

If anything else is sold off we will have nothing left to sell, then what will they do in the next crisis. I am mortified that this is even being considered.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by stigofthedump

Again Doghound I feel a little unsure of this proposal, I, and indeed many others, have been looking for some hope of Pine Marten re-colonisation 'Up ere' Making forestry plantations just an economic interest.... sorry not for me!

I can see your concern, but it doesnt state that anything is going to happen. If they continue to manage these forests for tree's then if anything it will aid species like pine marten. Im going off topic though and im just still on the fence with this news.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

I can see your concern, but it doesnt state that anything is going to happen. If they continue to manage these forests for tree's then if anything it will aid species like pine marten. Im going off topic though and im just still on the fence with this news.

I can see why people are concerned but at the same time if these forests arent sold off a) there will be no money to manage them, and b) the cash that would have been raised by the sale will have to come from somewhere else - like further cuts from the NE budget

the bottom line is that the govt isnt making cuts and selling off assets for fun, the country is heavily in debt and it would be irresponsible and short sighted to go on spending more than is coming in.

There are lots of private woodlands that are in better condition for wildlife and economic than the state owned ones, and also if a site that is sold is a SSSI or NNR it will remain a SSSI or NNR when in private hands and management options will be limited (again there are a lot of woodland SSSis already in private hands that are in good condition)

The biggest flaw i can see in the plan is that there may not be buyers for many of these sites - standing sitka spruce has very little value as a crop - and the effort of felling it usually costs more than it is worth, and once cleared the soil is to acidified to be much use for anything else - still looking on the brightside this could be an opportunity for wildlife trusts, national trust etc to and acquire cheaply and deforest sites that should never have been planted up in the first place