Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 45
Facing Page: A rut is all
that’s left behind after a
log is dragged out of the
woodlot, leaving behind
a healthier forest than
before.
Left: Lee Redifer of
McGaheysville, Va., sits
atop a logging cart,
about to coax his Belgian
draft horses to drag a
large tulip poplar log out
of the woods.
BRC
Mitch Goldman has plenty of work in northern
Virginia to make a living (but not a killing – a sentiment he expresses with pride, emblematic of another
facet of the restorative forestry ethos: decent, dignified livings through good, honest work is all they’re
after).
One trend in favor of restorative forestry is
increasing fragmentation of forestland ownership in
Virginia. According to statistics from the US Forest
Service, the share of privately owned forested tracts
of 20 acres or less has crept steadily upward over the
past decade, from 13.5 percent in 2001 to 16.3 percent in 2011. Because the overhead to transport logging equipment to a site remains the same regardless
of tract size, smaller and smaller properties tip the
economics – even in its conventional form – in the
horse loggers’ (or at least, the low-overhead loggers’)
direction.
Aesthetics also play a major role, Rutledge says.
Most people who buy relatively small, wooded properties aren’t interested in wringing every last cent out
of their timber resources. They want to own a beautiful forest, and there again, low-impact, restorative,
horse-powered loggers enjoy an advantage.
“Restorative forestry leaves the forest intact, and
that’s what [these landowners] want. The timber
value coming off their land is way down the list for
their concerns,” Rutledge says.
Today, the 25 or so active horse loggers whom
Rutledge estimates to be working in Virginia still face
big financial challenges. They remain in competition
with mechanized loggers, and their primary market
for logs remains the conventional sawmill that calculates payment on its conventional scale.
And yet, there are promising signs. Most of them
have far, far more work available to them than they
could possibly undertake, and Rutledge believes that
a shift of consciousness has begun. The message of
restorative forestry is finding a wider audience. More
and more people are seeing the forest instead of the
trees. They understand the ecological, economic,
aesthetic and social value of healthy forests, and how
restorative forestry enhances all of these, and how, in
all sorts of areas of life, it’s more important to focus
on what you’re leaving behind than what you’re taking with you.
Click to hear an
interview with Sinking
Creek Horse Logging
owner Ben Harris.
September/October 2013 | 45
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013
Cover
Contents
Letters
Digital Help Guide
From the Editor
From the Farm
Our Readers Know
The Hike
Mountain Report
Creature Feature
Events & Festivals
Great Buys
Country Roads
Worth a Click
Leaves, Laughs and Luxury: 25 Great Excursions for Fall
DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE: Ballooning in the Blue Ridge
Fall Photoessay: The Greatest Hits Collection
Trout’s Eye View: Photo
Horse-Powered Logging: A Once and Future Past
Tracking Down the Family Past in the Great Smoky Mountains
Bridge of Beauty
The Last Mountain Man?
Flavors
Cabin in the Woods: Living Like a Wrangler at Clear Creek Ranch
Mountain Garden
Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Cover
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Contents
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Letters
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Digital Help Guide
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - From the Editor
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - From the Farm
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Our Readers Know
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 13
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Mountain Report
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Events & Festivals
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Great Buys
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Country Roads
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Worth a Click
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Leaves, Laughs and Luxury: 25 Great Excursions for Fall
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE: Ballooning in the Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE2
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE3
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE4
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE5
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE6
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE7
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE8
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE9
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE10
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE11
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE12
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE13
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - DE14
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Fall Photoessay: The Greatest Hits Collection
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Trout’s Eye View: Photo
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Horse-Powered Logging: A Once and Future Past
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Tracking Down the Family Past in the Great Smoky Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Bridge of Beauty
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - The Last Mountain Man?
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 54
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Flavors
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Cabin in the Woods: Living Like a Wrangler at Clear Creek Ranch
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Mountain Garden
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 63
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2013 - Cover4
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