More timber dying today than was logged during heyday

To the Editor:

Where has common sense gone?

In reading an article on a meeting with Governor Schweitzer, county commissioners and other groups, it was suggested that the freeing up of 20,000 board feet of timber (twenty thousand) could possibly revitalize a mill in Lincoln County.

In case most people of this once great logging community don't know, this is about enough timber to last one good (now unemployed logger) about 4 days, enough lumber to build one of today's mega-homes and last a one-man sawmill several days to cut up the logs.

Was this a misprint?

Even 20,000,000 board feet (twenty million) if this was what was indicated won't do the job (use a calculator if necessary).

Here are a few facts.

There is more timber dying on the forest daily due to various causes than was logged daily in the Libby area's heyday.

This is real volume to keep several operations in business and employ hundreds of people and be a real boost to our economy, our schools and roads.

Why not salvage this material even beyond urban interfaces? This material has become such an overload of fuels for potential forest fires that we spend millions of taxpayer dollars on each year.

But then again this might mean opening a few roads (Heaven forbid) and the Grizzly bears would all just leave the country, or die from the shock of the sound of a chainsaw or skidder.

Perhaps more people should read the accounts of the 1910 fire (or should I say fires) the joining of many fires that came together and burned hundreds of thousands of acres, of what was once almost wilderness and roadless areas.

This is nature's way of management. It's bound to happen again unless we change directions, and change a way of thinking.

Richard Stehlik

Yaak Valley