Oregonians must push back on logging; letter to the editor

Readers respond: Oregonians must push back on logging

A massive clearcut stands in stark contrast to the forested hills of the Coast Range, found near the proposed Devil's Staircase Wilderness.
A massive clearcut stands in stark contrast to the forested hills of the Coast Range, found near the proposed Devil’s Staircase Wilderness. (Jamie Hale | The Oregonian/OregonLive)

Letter to the Editor, OregonLive
January 14, 2019

Welcome to Oregon, people from other states. Isn’t it the most beautiful state — with high desert, mountain skiing and a fabulous coast? But look out over the trees near the roads you drive and you will see clear cuts as far as you want to see. To remain a beautiful state, Oregon needs protection from its primary FOE: Forces of Extraction. That is, large timber companies that clear-cut our forests and try to weaken already weak logging laws. The logging industry adds more carbon pollution into our atmosphere every year than any other sector of the economy.

We need to harvest wood for building purposes, and there are companies doing it responsibly, selectively and without clear cuts. The logging industry harvests plantations every 30 to 40 years, not allowing these young trees to sequester carbon like older trees do. Plantations like this and the industrial management model are main contributors of greenhouse gases and planet warming. Call or write Gov. Brown, your state senator and Congressional representatives and ask them to make logging laws stronger.

— Merrie M. Kelly, Eugene