Broad local alliances are paramount to the future of U.S. forest communities according to a timberland expert who spoke at a major conference here Saturday.

Dr. Jerry Franklin of the University of Washington said the coalitions should mirror the makeup of Nevada County's Forest Breakfast Group, which includes environmentalists and representatives of the timber industry, government and education. If those groups are not formed, forests in the Sierra could succumb to wildfire, insects, disease and foreign wood products competition, Franklin said.

"This ain't the 20th century," Franklin said. "We can't be single-minded and worried just about timber or keeping our hands off of nature, or seeing environmentalists as opponents."

Speaking at the Forest Sustainability Conference at Nevada Union High School, Franklin said there are major challenges to keeping forests healthy in the Sierra and the United States. The challenges include changes in climate and old mindsets that have kept timber country people at odds for years.

Franklin said that as a young forester, he was taught not to worry about the climate. But that has changed with global warming.

In Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, more climate changes brought on by a growing population could extend the summer dry season and bring more major forest fires, Franklin said.

Importing diseases and insects from Europe and Asia through decorative plants and raw wood products also has to stop, Franklin said. Forty major insects and diseases detrimental to forests have been imported during the last century.

On an economic level, "we are going to lose global dominance in the wood products industry," Franklin warned. Major corporations are creating "fiber farms" in the southern portion of the world that can outproduce North American forests with better quality products at cheaper prices, he said.

That globalization of the wood industry is "The unrecognized 600-pound gorilla in the forestry field," Franklin said. "The investment is not here, it's in Chile, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia."

Franklin said public lands need more stewardship for economic and ecological reasons. The downsizing of the U.S. Forest Service in recent years is not the way to do that, he said.

"We need to look at a broader range of goods and services," from the forests, Franklin said. "There has to be latitude in natural management" to meet those ends.

The conference will resume Saturday, Nov. 5, with a variety of speakers who will talk about sustaining forests with actual projects.

ooo

To contact Senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 477-4237.