Boy, is Eric Holle out of touch with reality. The picture in Lynn Canal Conservation’s March 16 ad of a log ship loaded with unprocessed logs for export is actually a Canadian power barge about to unload pulp logs to be processed into rayon and paper at the Ketchikan pulp mill.
The two pulp mills in Southeast used to employ over 1,000 people and their sawmills, over 700 people. Our timber industry used to employ 7,500 people before the “greenies” lobbied Clinton to close it down. Low bidding on the Baby Brown sale is because 60 percent of the trees are pulp. No pulp mill equals no market. No sawmill equals no market. Thanks, Eric.
Vital government agencies are not in the business to make money, but to provide a service to the public and to businesses so they can make money and pay taxes. No economy equals a government department. Each town in Southeast used to receive $250,000 annually from stumpage to operate their schools. No stumpage fees equal a school department.
Evergreen trees shade out all competitors. No sunlight equals no food for deer, moose or bears. Ever seen a deer, moose or bear feeding on an evergreen tree, Eric? Also, the only loggers that cause flooding are beavers. For me, a well-managed forest full of wildlife and disease-free, healthy trees is a beautiful forest. The old clear-cut across from 30 Mile is a good example.
Dave Werner