No Need to Gamble,.,

Western Building Material Association is lining up tours of Mt. St. Helens and Weyerhaeuser's mill Sept.23-26.

Mountain States Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association's upcoming golf tournaments are July9 at The Ranch Golf Club, Denver, Co,, and Aug. 18 at Lander Country Club, Lander, Wy.

Tropical Hardwood Harvesting

(Continued from page I 7 ) so much deforestation in the tropics and so little forest management, many tried to attribute these problems solely to the use of big-leaf mahogany. However, the root causes of tropical deforestation are complex and center on socioeconomic issues and agricultural food production not on harvest-

. Redwood

Western Red Cedar ing of big-leaf mahogany.

Lumber Association of California & Nevada board of directors will meet Aug. 24-26 in Monterey, Ca.

Western Hardwood Association plans an all-day workshop during the second week of September in the Portland area. Topics include green certification, research and marketing of hybrid poplar, and growth and yield modeline.

Nevertheless, innovative efforts are underway to improve the use of bigleaf mahogany. In Mexico, Brazil, and Peru scientists, land managers, non-governmental organizations, and indigenous people are working together to manage forests containing bigleaf mahogany. In Mexico, ejidos are rehabilitating degraded lands with bigleaf mahogany seedlings, thus restor- ing unproductive lands to timber production. In Acre-a state in the Brazilian Amazon-there is a government initiative to scientifically manage extensive tracks of big-leaf mahogany forests for profit and conservation.

Such examples suggest that the timber resources of the tropics can be accessed commercially-provided the use is done intelligently and with an eye on long-term conservation of the resource.

"This process will be greatly enhanced by developing a solid base of scientific understanding of the productive capacity of tropical forests and their species," Lugo says. "Such an effort must be done in close collaboration with local peoples and their governments. We cannot assume that the vast forest resources of tropical America are empty lands waiting for exploitation. These forests have always supported indigenous populations and continue to do so. Tropical forests are sufficiently resilient to allow judicious use without destruction of the ecological web that supports local economies. Science can be a beacon to lead the way to sustainable commercial use of tropical forests."