Our forests mean different things to different people. To some they are storehouses of forest products waiting to be profitably exploited. To others they are a vital part of the biosphere. They recycle the air we breathe and store rainwater that would otherwise be quickly lost from the land. They create and protect soil, provide habitat for plants and animals and provide recreational enjoyment for millions of people.
These two views of forests do not have to be in conflict, but problems arise when the state of Washington’s Board of Natural Resources and the Department of Natural Resources perpetuate the myth that “forests are renewable.”
The truth is that exploited forests will not and cannot renew themselves after clearcut harvesting. Let’s get it straight, wood is renewable but old growth forests are not. The development of a forest ecosystem to its fullest extent with its diversity of co-existing species of plants and animals is an extremely slow process.
In light of this scientific information, I find it disturbing that the BNR is planning to increase logging in our state forests by nearly 40 percent, and 80 percent of those harvests will be clearcut. The BNR is misleading the public when it proposes to increase logging while promising the people that it will protect old growth forests, streams and bio-habitat.
There is no time like the present to protest the BNR’s proposal. Resource demands should be met by increasing productivity of existing state tree farms to the maximum, no matter the costs. Other forests, especially old growth, should be set aside forever as wilderness forests to protect ecological communities, preserve biological and genetic diversity and for nondestructive enjoyment by the people.
TERESA DIX
Coupeville
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