The Logic of British Forest Policy, 1919-1970

During the last 20 years British forestry has been heavily criticised by conservationists and environmentalists for the creation of monotonous forests dominated by non-native conifers. Foresters have been condemned for the forests they created and for having no apparent interest in the landscape, wildlife and the environment in general. It is, however, forgotten that these forests are the result of the demands of society for creating a strategic timber reserve and reinforcing the social fabric and economy of rural areas. To satisfy the demands of society foresters had to plant the poor land available for forestry. The physical conditions here defined to a large extent the appearance of the forests, being geometric in shape and monocultural. The use of conifers in monoculture plantations was reinforced during the 1960s when, under pressure of the Treasury and a developing domestic wood processing industry, the Forestry Commission was forced to become more efficient and economical. These pressures explain the extreme move to monoculture during the 1960s. This paper will try to show that the present criticism is the result of a forest policy that was dictated by economic, strategic, and social factors appropriate to the period they were in conceived as well as physical factors but that nevertheless environmental concerns played a role in th