aaaannd... now i'm depressed. you know, having grown up there, and having seen pristine areas ground down to stumps, i'm cool if they slow down logging. i've also been a remodeling carpenter for the last 15 years, and there is no better insight into the wasteful habits we have than to see over a ton of 100 year old studs that were likely 200 year old douglas firs when they were harvested go into the recycler. i know it was my job (unemployed since my relocation, so i have extra latitude when complaining about the industry
), and preaching against it is insane, but it is also my old backyard. anyone from az, or nevada, you know what, it's not the same where you are. we get a lot more rain, and have a lot more trees, and have a lot of fish to boot. fish that are part of the life cycle we are recording as suffering. a lot of this run off is unavoidable once you fell the forest, considering the forest is what is, duh, holding down the dirt. dirt goes in small streams, clogs salmon runs, salmon runs get less and less every year, orcas and other animals like local fisherman suffer the hit. i will tell you, a few years ago when i took my excursion to alaska, on my return trip my now wife and i went through a town in canada, and we counted at least 7 operating log mills. in one town. i know there have been massive closures of lumber companies nationwide, and i feel for those who are out of a job, but it may be a strong indicator of the changes that need to be made. i don't want them to close what we have now in terms of off pavement travel, but when they see a lumber company blaze a trail through a perfectly good forrest, i see why they would be up in arms, and look for whatever victory they could get, no matter how seemingly petty or cheap. the recession is hurting many right now, take it from someone with little hope of finding work in one of the worse off areas in the country for my line of work, but i am okay with it if it keeps them cutting less.
