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Visual absorption capability in the blue range study area. An assessment procedure for Victoria's forest landscapes
73
on what is meant by “near” when publicly-funded development is near to historic features - 300 feet (91.44 metres) was the finally-approved definition. The example of an artificial sand dune in Ogunquit, Maine, raised a topical comment in the paper describing the court case - “Clearly, the plaintiffs waited until after construction to complain because they did not know what to expect until they saw it. Their visual illiteracy was a root problem”. Bearing this comment in mind, the argument for precise and easily understood visual analysis is well supported. BRIAN HACKETT 27 Larkspur Terrace, desmond Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE2 2DT, Gt. Britain
FOREST LANDSCAPES
Visual Absorption Capability in the BIue Range Study Area. An Assessment Procedure for Victoria’s Forest Landscapes, Dennis Wi~li~son, Scott Murray, Steve Moss and Richard Hammond. Forests Commission, Victoria, 1981,111 pp, illustrated, $6.00 (soft cover). Over a number of years there has been mount~g criticism that forestry activities, such as clear felling and the establishment of extensive monoculture blocks of exotic pine plantations, adversely affect Australian landscapes, The reconciliation of landscape management with forest management for timber production within economic constraints is a formidable task. Probably, of all Australian State Forest Services, the Forests Commission of Victoria has been most concerned to implement forestry programs designed to preserve landscape qualities and allay public apprehension about forestry activities. Such programs could do much to restore the image of the forester as a public benefactor. The Forests Commission of Victoria established a team with expertise in landscape planning, landscape architecture and geography to work with state foresters to develop a practical system to measure the relative ability of landscapes to absorb visually the scenic alterations resulting from changes in land management. For eighteen months, the team made a detailed investigation of the Blue Range Study Area, an area of 370 km’, in the Eastern Highlands about 90 km north-east of Melbourne. This book is essentially a report of this pilot study and a consideration of the general application of the procedures developed to the 5.7 million ha of state forest in Victoria. The book, in a loose leaf format, contains many informative maps, diagrams, figures, flow charts and project guidelines. Most of these are useful in illustrating the succinct text, which details the various steps to be fol-
74
lowed in making assessments of visual absorption capability as a basis for the development of a visual management system. A glossary is provided, and is helpful in enabling the reader to come to grips with the jargon, which creates problems for anyone unfamiliar with the terms used. Whilst the procedure described is innovative it has some drawbacks. Nevertheless, I believe it is a major advance in resolving landscaping issues arising from forestry activities. The authors emphasise that some of the techniques described are relatively complex for the uninitiated forest manager. With appropriate field training, most foresters should be able to follow the systematic approach described. This important book should be read by foresters and other land managers because it provides a practical means to take better account of public sensitivity to broad-scale landscape change. J.D. OVINGTON Austrulian National Parks and Wildlife Service, P. 0. Box 636, Canberra City, A. C. T. 2601. Australia
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
On Rational Grounds. Systems Analysis in Catchment Land Use Planning. Developments in Landscape Management and Urban Planning, Vol. 4. David Bennet and John F. Thomas (Editors). Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, Oxford and New York, 1982, xxxii + 362 pp., D#l. 190.00, U.S.$ 88.25, ISBN o-444-42056-8. This is a detailed account of a team exercise in the application of systems analysis to patterns of land use in the catchment of the Murray River in Western Australia - a catchment measuring 6600 km2 and yielding an average of 250 X lo6 m3 of water per annum. The value of the water is much diminished by salinity, which has increased over recent decades through the clearing of forest land for agriculture. The catchment is divided into 43 mapping units according to geomorphology and precipitation, and land uses as national parks, flora and fauna reserves, agriculture, bauxite mining, and natural and pIantation forests are allotted between them by a technique of linear programming. It is claimed that the procedure followed corresponds with the “rational paradigm”. This is never clearly explained, but it seems to involve maximizing a monetary measure in which recreation, water quantity and quality, as well as the costs and outputs of agriculture, forestry and mining, are all embraced. It is not clear why the word “rational” should be arrogated exclusively to this economic approach; this objection seems, indeed, to be tacitly anticipated, since the word is often surrounded by quotation marks.
on what is meant by “near” when publicly-funded development is near to historic features - 300 feet (91.44 metres) was the finally-approved definition. The example of an artificial sand dune in Ogunquit, Maine, raised a topical comment in the paper describing the court case - “Clearly, the plaintiffs waited until after construction to complain because they did not know what to expect until they saw it. Their visual illiteracy was a root problem”. Bearing this comment in mind, the argument for precise and easily understood visual analysis is well supported. BRIAN HACKETT 27 Larkspur Terrace, desmond Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE2 2DT, Gt. Britain
FOREST LANDSCAPES
Visual Absorption Capability in the BIue Range Study Area. An Assessment Procedure for Victoria’s Forest Landscapes, Dennis Wi~li~son, Scott Murray, Steve Moss and Richard Hammond. Forests Commission, Victoria, 1981,111 pp, illustrated, $6.00 (soft cover). Over a number of years there has been mount~g criticism that forestry activities, such as clear felling and the establishment of extensive monoculture blocks of exotic pine plantations, adversely affect Australian landscapes, The reconciliation of landscape management with forest management for timber production within economic constraints is a formidable task. Probably, of all Australian State Forest Services, the Forests Commission of Victoria has been most concerned to implement forestry programs designed to preserve landscape qualities and allay public apprehension about forestry activities. Such programs could do much to restore the image of the forester as a public benefactor. The Forests Commission of Victoria established a team with expertise in landscape planning, landscape architecture and geography to work with state foresters to develop a practical system to measure the relative ability of landscapes to absorb visually the scenic alterations resulting from changes in land management. For eighteen months, the team made a detailed investigation of the Blue Range Study Area, an area of 370 km’, in the Eastern Highlands about 90 km north-east of Melbourne. This book is essentially a report of this pilot study and a consideration of the general application of the procedures developed to the 5.7 million ha of state forest in Victoria. The book, in a loose leaf format, contains many informative maps, diagrams, figures, flow charts and project guidelines. Most of these are useful in illustrating the succinct text, which details the various steps to be fol-
74
lowed in making assessments of visual absorption capability as a basis for the development of a visual management system. A glossary is provided, and is helpful in enabling the reader to come to grips with the jargon, which creates problems for anyone unfamiliar with the terms used. Whilst the procedure described is innovative it has some drawbacks. Nevertheless, I believe it is a major advance in resolving landscaping issues arising from forestry activities. The authors emphasise that some of the techniques described are relatively complex for the uninitiated forest manager. With appropriate field training, most foresters should be able to follow the systematic approach described. This important book should be read by foresters and other land managers because it provides a practical means to take better account of public sensitivity to broad-scale landscape change. J.D. OVINGTON Austrulian National Parks and Wildlife Service, P. 0. Box 636, Canberra City, A. C. T. 2601. Australia
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
On Rational Grounds. Systems Analysis in Catchment Land Use Planning. Developments in Landscape Management and Urban Planning, Vol. 4. David Bennet and John F. Thomas (Editors). Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, Oxford and New York, 1982, xxxii + 362 pp., D#l. 190.00, U.S.$ 88.25, ISBN o-444-42056-8. This is a detailed account of a team exercise in the application of systems analysis to patterns of land use in the catchment of the Murray River in Western Australia - a catchment measuring 6600 km2 and yielding an average of 250 X lo6 m3 of water per annum. The value of the water is much diminished by salinity, which has increased over recent decades through the clearing of forest land for agriculture. The catchment is divided into 43 mapping units according to geomorphology and precipitation, and land uses as national parks, flora and fauna reserves, agriculture, bauxite mining, and natural and pIantation forests are allotted between them by a technique of linear programming. It is claimed that the procedure followed corresponds with the “rational paradigm”. This is never clearly explained, but it seems to involve maximizing a monetary measure in which recreation, water quantity and quality, as well as the costs and outputs of agriculture, forestry and mining, are all embraced. It is not clear why the word “rational” should be arrogated exclusively to this economic approach; this objection seems, indeed, to be tacitly anticipated, since the word is often surrounded by quotation marks.