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Re: NFC: Re: Fw: Resources other than timber now of secondaryimportance on Mo...
- To: nfc at actwin_com
- Subject: Re: NFC: Re: Fw: Resources other than timber now of secondaryimportance on Mo...
- From: "Scott Olson" <olson7 at hotmail_com>
- Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 11:13:14 -0700
Mike,
I enjoyed your post! A few comments:
<In the early nineties there was a 5 year proposal for National Forests in
the Tennessee/Georgia area to have 40% clear cuts.>
Incredibly stupid of whoever made such a proposal! About as dumb as the
Army Corps' proposal to add dams to the upper Mississippi.
On the other hand, a federal judge just ruled this past week that the dead
standing timber left after last years serious forest fires in Montana cannot
be harvested. The tyranny of the judiciary continues! I believe the
proposal covered some 50,000 acres of the Bitterroot National Forest, which
is only a fraction of what burned. It seems the insanity cuts both ways.
<i just think the National Forests should be used only for selective harvest
of mature trees only.>
<I also think that, as a matter of law, no timber should be taken until the
cost of building & maintaining roads at least equals the lease price.>
I guess the idealistic side of me would like to agree, but the realistic
side knows that the most likely way to reach the latter goal is to allow
clear-cutting; it is the most cost-effective method of harvesting timber.
While a new clear-cut is ugly as sin, in a year or three the clear-cut area
provides a lot more food and habitat for many species of wildlife than do
'old-growth' areas.
Road-building is a very expensive proposition. Economically, it would
require a very substantial timber sale to pay for a road of any length or
complexity. Keep in mind that the roads provide access to many square miles
of recreational land that would otherwise be inaccessible to most
recreationalists.
Anyway, enough!
Happy Holidays to all NFCers! All the best from my family to yours!
Scott
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