Andrew Johnson

Just found out that Jay Baldwin, one of the editors of the Whole Earth Catalog and a student of Buckminster Fuller, passed away on March 8. As a builder and designer, Baldwin was a  major early influence for me. Like Bucky, he taught people about comprehensive design science. He had a trailer that was a mobile workshop, filled with all tbe tools he needed to travel and fabricate almost anything. I've been dreaming of just such a mobile workshop myself for years. Baldwin was a tool expert, and I would have loved to see in that trailer.
So he wasn't a permaculturist, but as a comprehensive design scientist he was an inspiration to many of us.RIP.
 Heres an interview with him from 1994.

Great advice, thanks.
Yeah, we aren't yet totally sure what the end result wants to be. The remaining 3/4 of the property is in aspen/poplar mostly.
We will likely  clear some land for food, but it is somewhat marginal land with short growing season, so we may start small bringing in topsoil, greenhouse, etc.
We want to be able to have a sustainable working forest that we can get lumber and firewood from into the future, as well as encouraging as much diversity and habitat as we can.
I did read that in order to get rid of the visual effect of the straight rows we may need to cut down to 60 or so trees remaining per acre.

Has anyone had experience converting a red pine plantation into a more diverse 'natural' forest or integrated forest? We have about 25 acres almost ready to harvest, and as opposed to clearcutting, we want to do some ecoforestry. Save some of the best trees, encourage growth of other trees, etc. We are in the Land of the Lakes, ecoregion, on the very western edge of the boreal shield.
If anyone is not familiar with these plantations, they were planted in places like Ontario, Manitoba, Minnesota and Michigan (and likely other places.) from the 30s to the 60s as a way of retaining soil on the many many acres of abandoned farmland. They are stright row monocropping, and the close canopy prevents much other life.

Hi, we have a small red pine plantation that is ready to be harvested soon in southern Manitoba (Boreal Shield/Lake of Lakes ecoregion). We have a sawmill and can saw to square ttimbers, stick lumber, etc. We can also do cob perhaps, stackwood, etc. I'm thinking, maybe because the logs require less processing and provide insulation and we have access to so many, that this is the best way to build. Is it? Is something else more appropriate for our region?