HOW TO HARVEST TANNINS ETHICALLY
BACKSTORY: in the hide tanning method Bark-tanning, we use freshly-harvested plant material (most often, bark) to make a tea (call bark-liquor) which tans a hide (the plant constituent tannin bonds with + transforms the hide's proteins). We cannot use old plant material, as tannins easily leach and decompose. Only fresh-harvested plants will do (after harvesting, plants/bark can be dried to preserve and still be used).
So, given that we live in a world with pervasive habitat reduction + ecosystem damage, how do we harvest tannins ethically - sustainably and responsibly?
(1) Harvest after a windstorm
Windstorms knock off branch and sometime crack trees right in half. In the Pacific Northwest, this happens especially to Red Alder but also to Doug-fir, Hemlock, and Spruce. Any tree stand is likely to have fallen tree material after a windstorm. This is your moment to go out, collect the branch or trunks before much rain gets to them, and scrape the bark.
So make a note of where the stands of small bark-tanning trees live. Next time there is a windstorm, check on your stand. Bring a tarp and drawknife to harvest the bark in place. If you have a chainsaw (and possibly a firewood harvest permit) bring that to take away the material.
(2) Contact your local municipality or arborist
If falling your own trees isn't for you, connect with someone who does it already. Municipalities and arbor companies regularly harvest old Oaks, Douglas-firs, Grand Firs, Spruce, and more. When mature trees become larger than the sidewalk they are planted under, or when they start to show the first signs of disease, they get taken out immediately. This is a major loss. Hide tanners can help honour those trees and utilize their offerings by being on-call when a company cuts them down. You can then scrape the bark or buy the whole tree, depending on what you work out with the arbor service.
This approach requires some motivation and a willingness to chat and negotiate. Be prepared to offer financial or labour exchange; don't expect favours for free. Arborist work hard, so we can help them out by lightening their load (such as reducing the amount of heavy things they take to the compost facility). If you contact a municipality, you may need to talk yourself up a bit + sound very professional. It can be intimating, but fun. You can get consistent access to urban tannins + to ornamental ‘exotic’ species that don't grow wildly in your ecosytsem, such as Sumac and Mimosa. Make sure, always, that you get to the plant material before it gets rained on.
(3) Harvest from “weedy” parts of the forest
In an old growth forest, succession looks like this: pioneer plants (like Rose spp and Alder) grow in an opening/disturbed site; they fix nitrogen and prepare the area for long-lived conifers. Next, those long-lived conifers come in, phase out the first plants, and stabilize the area.
Clearcut logging has wreaked havoc on the forest's natural succession. When an entire area loses its trees, all the species of trees grow back at once. This means that both pioneer and succession species grow together + trees are all of the same age group. A ton of trees compete in small spaces and grow tall and skinny, unstable and malnourished. Disease and pests come in to stabilize the situation, killing “weedy” trees and letting the other trees have some breathing room.
We can help, too. Harvesting trees in an area that has way too many small, densely-packed trees helps the whole ecosystem thrive. It limits the disease and pests, which can cause just as much harm as good, and provide more food for foraging animals. it stabilizes the soil and mitigates the risk of trees falling over.
This approach requires a saw and the ability to fall trees. Small trees (up to 5" in diameter) are not challenging to fall and you can learn this skill easily in a weekend class if you're new to it.
(4) Harvest from restoration sites and stewardship lands
When wild-harvesting, search for local restoration sites - such invasive species removal projects or re-matriation projects. These are projects whose organizers most likely will welcome the support. Many invasive species can tan hides and will be put to good use. Seeking permission from the First Nation who stewards the land is both a responsible approach to wild harvesting + a way to connect to the sites that need the most help and support.
These are four approaches to harvesting tannins, from passive salvaging to ecosystem restoration + rematriation. If you're a barktanner and you don't have a solid source for tannin right now, Google local arborists and restoration projects. Start to collect a list in your mind of where you can support local projects and make use of materials that otherwise go to waste.
Harvesting tannins ethically will build-in reciprocity to your hide tanning practice. The belonging this brings to our bodies is real. Imagine looking out your window after a storm and knowing, ah I have to go check on my stand now. Or showing up to an ecosystem restoration site and having a good purpose for the plants that will be cleared. The stability, the connectedness that we help bring to the forest comes back to us.