Eyes on the forest
Speak for the Trees Oregon is committed to taking privately held timber properties out of the poorly regulated logging industry’s timber holdings, to be held in a trust for perpetuity. Managed according to our non-commercial forest management plan helping to repair damage from previous logging, fostering biodiversity of plants and animals in a forest striving to return to its natural balance.
Without individuals and groups observing on the ground logging practices it leaves only the logging company to regulate their behaviors, a wolf guarding the henhouse. With the economy in a downward spiral and global lumber prices plummeting, more and more corners are being cut in the interest of making a profit. The corners that are being cut affect us all and especially the watershed. Over story removal is a sham. Leaving a handful of damaged trees is an open invitation for a disease ridden forest. From a timber perspective, it is much cheaper not to replant. Erosion, top soils drying and blowing away, habitat destruction, and the overall degradation of the landscape: this is the cost of cheap lumber. Logging companies are obligated to be mindful of endangered species like the spotted owl and threatened species like the salmon, both part of the Oregon Mountains long before human settlement. They are also obligated to perform dust abatement when requested, and not cause undue erosion into fish-bearing streams. The whole National Forest Service plan was predicated on protecting watershed health. Sadly, the health of our ecosystem gets in the way of industrialized logging practices. Without committed individuals as eyes on the forest, none of those logging practices will be followed as there is no one on the ground for enforcement. |
WE SAVED 110 acres of forest in Crepsi Gulch
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