READING the letter of March 9 from a reader regarding the recent tree felling near Drybrook, I felt the need to respond, mainly to try to clear up the obvious misunderstanding expressed by a 'Forester'.

Much of the Forest as we see it today has been planted (on land that has been afforested for a long time), either with broadleaved trees or commercial conifers, which I can only assume is what is being described, with the principle objective of one day being harvested. As a crop this is, and should be seen no differently to any other crop, the biggest difference being the length of time over which the crop matures, their size and impact on the landscape during this process.

There are many advantages we all get from woodlands during this long establishment phase and this multipurpose forestry can be seen very clearly in the Dean. There does come a time however, when those trees must be harvested, the timber from which goes into the local market as firewood and sawlogs for a range of uses.

The grower, in this case the Forestry Commission, is then able to benefit from all the effort and cost that has gone into producing that end product. In a period of increasing public cutbacks surely any additional income going into the public purse must be welcomed and facilitates ongoing forest management, which after all was clearly shown through the HOOF campaign in 2011 people wish to see continue. As a country we need to continue to manage our forests well, which requires they generate income and help reduce our dependency on importing a product we can perfectly well produce ourselves.

For every tree that is felled, at least five will be planted in its place, and the likelihood is these will be native broadleaves as the FC has a policy of returning sites back to native woodland. Yes the machinery involved is large, does the work very quickly with minimal workers, though this is a reflection of our times and ensures the work can be undertaken in a cost effective way. Any damage that does occur will be reinstated and sites are planned carefully to ensure that works do not have a detrimental effect on wildlife or the overall landscape.

It's a shame this lack of understanding is coming from a 'Forester' and therefore if the wider public share such an equally misinformed view the industry really needs to better inform the public.

– Julian Burchby, Lydney.