Dear HCN,
In Mike Stark’s article,
“Will logging save the spotted owl” (HCN, 3/12/01: Will logging
save the spotted owl?), he quotes Joe Keating, federal forest
coordinator for the Sierra Club, “All in all, it’s just a very bad
plan.” Later Keating expands, “The real reason (for this plan) is
to have a sustainable forestry program; that’s their prime
directive.”
And that’s a bad thing?!! I was under
the impression that a sustainable forestry plan was what true
environmentalists want. Unfortunately, many in the Sierra Club
pursue not only a zero cut on public lands, but as this shows, are
against any cutting on state and I presume private
lands.
When will true environmentalists name
extremism when they see it? People like Joe K. can blithely
pronounce judgment on any activity that doesn’t meet their purity
standards, and it rings a bell with a lot of concerned people, but
only as long as the American demand for wood can be met from
Canada, South America, or any third world country with forests and
a seaport.
Horrors, just think, a sustainable
forestry program – talk about selling out!
Tim Gammell
Portland,
Oregon
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline What’s wrong with ‘sustainable’ forestry?.
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