Debate Over Owls and Timber in Northwest
Agriculture and Interior Secretaries Clayton Yeutter and Manuel Lujan are wrong in saying that “a perfect answer does not exist” to the controversy over destroying old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest.
The perfect answer is to recognize that old-growth forests are irreplaceable biological preserves that must be set aside permanently as wilderness or national preserves.
We saved the giant sequoias in California’s Sierra, Yosemite, Yellowstone and hundreds of other natural areas because previous Presidents and Congresses recognized the importance of preserving our natural heritage.
Old-growth forests are the last of America’s great forested lands. Most have been clear-cut over. Most of the giant trees in the old-growth forests are many hundreds of years old. Together they constitute a unique ecosystem which has taken thousands of years to create.
The spotted owl flies over this biological wonder as a symbol of the life and beauty of a great forest whose genetic diversity must be preserved or lost forever.
LU HAAS
Port Hueneme
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