mandate that all trees that are lumbered must be replaced 1:1 with saplings of the same species

Been awhile since I studied forestry and took fields trips, but is that not exactly what they do? Lumber companies are sustainable, if they we're replacing 1:1, they would be out of business in a generation or two.

I see it in the South with pines, everywhere I go. Consistently sized groups of trees, consistent density. You can tell what stage they're all at.

Oh! I think I get you. But I'm not aware of any modern companies whacking down diverse forests. They've been monoculture forever.

That is a great idea though you might want to get a third party to survey what trees are planted where before the logging company does so you know what get removed and replanted are actually accurate.

While this is an issue, there are more than a few “non-profits” that have come into existence in the past 5 to 10 years that are “saving the world by planting millions of acres of trees”.

Good video about that

Generally, that's what happens. These cutblocks are there because most or all of the trees were of a species that was logged. You might as well plant the same species, because it will eventually end up that way anyway, it just takes longer.

Cutblocks left alone will have some species flourish for a while, but eventually they end up with the species that dominated before by virtue of the soil types and environmental factors. And if you plant that species in parts of the logging area that didn't support them, they'll get outcompeted anyway by volunteers of that dominant species.

I've backpacked in a lot of virgin and non-virgin country, and the forests that have been logged don't look much different after 40 years than the ones that have never been logged. Just the size of the dominant species changes.

Because natural forests are never a monoculture. In replanted areas it is always a monoculture, and that leads to massive problems with infestations (ie: the mountain pine beetle in BC) that kills thousands of hectares of forests, that leads to the massive fire season Canada had last year.

Adding to that is the fact deciduous trees act as a firebrake between pine/spruce, limiting forest fires.