Dear HCN,
I read with interest Sam
Hitt’s “Green Hate” opinion (HCN, 2/3/97) regarding New Mexico
forests. Until he, the environmental special interests who invoke
his name, the timber interests and the poor families burning nine
cords of wood per year stop pointing fingers at each other, we’re
doomed to this seemingly unsolvable war.
As a
Forest Service employee trying to “do the right thing,” whatever
that is, I see the death spiral these people have us in as the
primary reason we cannot reach agreement. Until the poor people
living at 8,000 feet bury the past and come to terms with the
concepts of resource limitations and national interests, and until
the environmental groups ditch their tunnel vision, including the
unwillingness to discuss true natural forest conditions, and until
the timber interests can come to the table as objective partners,
we, as a region and a nation, are in a pretty tough
spot.
Hitt’s essay does nothing but continue a
discussion of blame, and serves no purpose other than widening the
chasm. As I sit here over my Saturday morning coffee, I’m
reflecting back on the roads I helped build into primitive forest
areas years ago, and how I wish that hadn’t happened. And I’m
thinking of the role I played surveying the I-15 route through the
Virgin River Gorge in the 1960s, and how I wish that hadn’t
happened.
It’s too late – it’s all history – the
past. It’s not too late, though, for Hitt, the loggers, the
ranchers, and others to come to the table in a selfless way, in the
interest of everyone, and help solve problems. I never met a timber
beast, a cowboy, a Hispanic fuelwood cutter, environmentalist, or
fed that didn’t enjoy the sounds of the songbirds in the woods. It
sure beats the noise these special interests are putting
up.
John
Nelson
Flagstaff,
Arizona
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Let’s stop blaming.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
