For generations now, japan’s forests have been heavily managed for timber, one result is large stands of single species forests. They may look good, but not much can live there.

The outcome, say critics like Mariko Moriyama of the 20,000-member Japan Bear and Forest Association (JBFA), has been the creation of forests where few animals can survive. Vast single-species stands of timber lack the plant diversity found in natural forests, and plant diversity forms the foundation for animal diversity. Black bears, for example, are omnivorous but prefer to eat young leaves, insects, berries, and acorns — few of which can be found in timber plantations.

And what natural forest remains has been fragmented by roads and other development, leaving less and less room for Japan’s bears and putting them in conflict with humans — a clash that is rapidly driving down bear populations.

“The results of the experiment are in,” says Moriyama, who founded JBFA after a career as a middle school science teacher. “Japan’s traditional culture preserved amazing forests up until World War II. Our post-war approach has failed.”

The lesson is that the needs of a timber company managing a forest for lumber are not necessarily beneficial to other life in the forest. When lumber companies are put in charge of forest management, the only ones who will benefit are the forest companies.