Like Frank mentioned,"foresters are people who are involved in the science, the art, and the practice of managing forests for human benefit and using natural resources that come from forested lands."

When a forester or someone working in a forest decides that they want to harvest some trees, they become involved in what is known as silviculture. In a nutshell, silviculture is the art and science of growing and tending forest crops. This includes the cutting of trees, replanting the land with seedlings, and caring for the young trees until the forest returns to its desired state, this requires that a forester knows a lot about the forest.

Before a piece of land can be logged, we need to have a plan. We call it a management plan, and it describes what we're going to log, how we're going to do it, when and how we're going to replant the area with trees. In 1941, back when my mom and dad were active as foresters, the state of Oregon created laws that requiring that all state and private forest land be replanted. Since 1971, we foresters in Oregon have been working with the requirements of the Oregon Forest Practices Act in mind. Among other things, the Act reminds us to replant the lands we log.

• Oregon Forest Practice Rules • Who Owns Oregon's Forests?