Northwest’s Battle Over Trees and Jobs

Regarding your article, those of us who live and work in the Northwest would like to comment. It was silly for your reporter to compare the rain forests of the Amazon, which are being razed, to the forests of this country which are scientifically managed and replanted after they are harvested. Countries like Brazil don’t preserve trees in wilderness areas like we do, nor do they have a sustained yield policy as we do in this country. The Forest Service is directed by the Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act of 1960 and the National Forest Management Act of 1976 to manage the federal timberlands for multiple use and sustained timber harvest.

Private landowners in the United States plant more than 6 million trees daily, and federal and state governments plant another 900,000 trees daily. As a nation, we recognize that timber is a unique, renewable resource.

The ecosystem we want to preserve is an interrelationship of working people and the land that supports them. We have enough tree museums in the 32 million acres of wilderness already set aside in this country. And many Americans cannot enjoy these wilderness areas because no roads or motorized vehicles are allowed in them. The public benefits from Forest Service timber sale programs because we need the wood products our forests provide us for housing and many everyday needs.

DAVID and SUZANNE PENEGOR

Eugene, Ore.