Tree Planning: A Guide to Public Involvement in Forest Stewardship

Ken A. Armson, a former executive co-ordinator of the Ontario Ministry
of Natural Resources’ Forest Resources Group, is currently a forestry
consultant.

This book’s purpose is to enable people in British Columbia to have
input into the Ministry of Forests’ planning system, and thereby to
influence decision-making at the forest-management level.

The contents comprise 11 chapters, 14 appendices, and a glossary, with
the appendices and glossary constituting more than half the total book.
The first four chapters ostensibly offer background on perceived
problems in forest management planning, a brief (and inadequate) history
of the province’s forests and the forest administration, and the
organization of the Ministry of Forests in chart form. Chapter 5 largely
consists of excerpted sections from the Forest Act, and Chapter 6
outlines the author’s views on existing policies, guidelines, and
manuals pertaining to forest planning. Chapter 7 finally deals with the
book’s purpose; it discusses the planning framework, leading into
Chapter 8 which suggests what actions individuals or groups should take
at the local level.

Throughout the book, the author continually refers to the planning
process in the United States, particularly that of the National Forests.
The process, described in Chapter 9, is presumably offered as a
benchmark. Chapters 10 and 11 conclude with further discussion on public
involvement and on community forests, and with a proposal for
legislation on forest use.

The book is littered with uncaptioned photographs of poor quality and
of little or no relevance. It is written in a rambling style with a
pronounced bias for non-timber values, and tends to be, at times, more
of a polemic than a guide. Most, if not all, of the relevant information
to meet the book’s stated purpose is in Chapters 7 and 8.