[Woodcarver] Re: Joe's Christmas present - Please replace your divot!

[Victor Hamburger]

> "Merrilee Johnson" <merrihat at hotmail.com>

   If this log is that big and its so hard to take out

> how in the world can they "fix the area to its orginal contours with no 

> effect on  environmental consequences"?  Wouldn't just removing it 

> change the environment?  And would that matter really?  Just a thought.


Merrilee,

In strip mining, the company is required to recontour the area that they may 
have stripped a 20-30' deep seam of coal off of.  The company uses the topsoil 
originally removed and lays it back, creating a smooth area with some gentle 
slopes and hills to it.   In a case like these trees, I assume the company does 
the same thing, they refill the hole left, and replace the topsoil or peat or 
whatever, so that the remaining land is again smooth and unblemished after a 
year's growth of vegetation.

Yes, removing and then replacing the top surface material does affect the 
environment, but once replaced, it is not a long term problem.  I don't know 
what the problems are in a place like these logs come from, but in coal mining, 
you want to cover the acidic material associated with the coal that will foul 
the water table and kill surrounding vegetation.

I am only assuming my understanding/comparison of coal mining is similar to what 
the log salvaging operation goes through.  Someone from that area of the world 
may know better how it is done.

	Vic H