When Ian Mahood began his work for forestry magnate H.R. MacMillan in the 1950s, forest management was something less than a science. Mahood's pioneer silviculture methods were instrumental in changing the forest industry's approach to harvesting and crop management.

From his early days of working as a sparkchaser on railway logging in the 1930s to stints as a Chief Executive Officer for top Canadian and international forest companies, Ian Mahood was a close inside observer of the forest industry. Now he brings his expertise to this biting indictment of a forest management policy gone astray. His story, a detailed examination of the industry spiced with personal anecdotes and incisive observations, questions the logic of the controversial Tree Farm Licence system.

Ken Drushka worked as a journalist before spending sixteen years as a logger, silvicultural contractor and the operator of a custom sawmill. His work has been published in numerous periodicals, including Equity, Business in Vancouver, BC Report and Truck Logger. Drushka's books include the BC bestsellers Working in the Woods and Stumped: The Forest Industry in Transistion, Against Wind and Weather, Tie Hackers to Timber Harvesters and HR: A Biography of H.R. MacMillan, which won the 1996 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional BC Book Prize. He was also co-author of Three Men and a Forester (with Ian Mahood). Drushka passed away at the age of 63 in 2004.

Ken Drushka's profile page

Ian Mahood's profile page