Sorry about my turn of phrase in that earlier post. It was getting late, I hadn't got all I needed done in the day and had just ODed on several threads across several forums where people were either tapping birches or doing something else that was far from "leave no trace".
The area that I get to go for my woods time is public access National Trust land. It is beautiful but was mostly planted, so there are areas which are almost exclusively sweet chestnut, or ash, or beech, or oak or fir. The birch sort of fill in and are probably the most naturally occurring species. It is always sad to see the beech with initials carved into the bark, ring barked birch, trail-side hazel that have had rods hacked off with dull knives leaving splintered stumps. So many things that people want to do as part of "bushcraft" leave a mark, or cause wear and tear. Not only can this detract from other peoples' enjoyment of of the place, but wear and tear can soon add up.
It has been pointed out to me that some people are aware of birch that have been tapped for a decade (in Scotland) and still look healthy. Maybe there are different pathogens up there, maybe the trees are more resilient, maybe they picked just the right trees. It can't be discounted any JonathanD's observations.
I reckon it is better for people to be as fully informed as possible before making the choice to go auger tapping or not. If there is a risk of killing the tree it is the sort of thing I would think should be cleared with a land owner.
