From the Christian Science Monitor.Daily:
Ecological forestry goes back to at least the 1980s, when Jerome Jackson, a prominent forest ecologist in Oregon, wrote an article in American Forests magazine calling for “a new forestry.” He described it as “a kinder and gentler forestry that better accommodates ecological values, while allowing for the extraction of commodities.” Mr. Jackson, who had grown up in a Washington mill town, says foresters should strive to “maintain the complex forest ecosystem, not just grow trees.”
Mr. Jackson was reacting to forestry practices after World War II, when the timber industry was cutting forests heavily to meet the demands of an expanding economy. He was also writing at a time of growing public concern about the environment, including about the endangered spotted owl. Conservation organizations like The Nature Conservancy were also growing in size and influence at the time. States were starting to adopt forestry rules.
Since then, the growing popularity of land trusts, timber certification programs, federal conservation grants, and carbon sequestration credits has offered new avenues for protecting and improving forests.
Read more about “To hug or to cut: A new generation of foresters says do both” here