Re: Ms Anne Hayes should NOT be characterized as a public interest attorney

["Duncan Fletcher" <dfletche@gte.net>]

I don't know anything about Ann Hayes, but there are no virgin forests -
forestry science outdated that term years ago. There are old growth forest
of various ages. There is also a concept of the climax forest - but nature
most often in the form of fire tends to prevent the achievement of the
climax forest. Certainly the timber companies prefer not to see their
valuable crop consumed by fire. Most farmers feel the same way. In fact, I
feel the same way about my house, so I guess I am greedy. Public interest
and welfare of ecosystems may not be synonomous. If you really want to stop
overuse of natural resources, try mandatory population control and see if
that jibes with public interest. That would reduce the demand for timber and
reduce the demand for land needed for housing and the stores and factories
needed to support them.

This is not to say that timber companies should be given carte blanche or
that they are squeaky clean nor have their management practices always good.
But the diatribe against corporations is a soundbite without substance - the
issue is much more complex. Much of the timber cut on public land has been
done by small timber companies. The big corporations tend to stick to their
own land.

Duncan Fletcher
dfletche@gte.net


----- Original Message -----
From: "Betty DeMar Mueller" <demar@cfw.com>

> To characterize Ms. Anne Hayes as a public interest attorney is
> misleading since she is clearly mouthing timber interest propagander.
> One wonders how these beautiful virgin forests survived before humans
> came on the scene without "management."  It's true that Smokey the Bear
> mismanaged at the behest of timber companies.  It is these companies
> self serving greed that has brought these forests to their present
> state.  Now they can hardly wait to use these fires to justify more of
> their robber barens pillage in the name of forest health.
>
> What we need is true ecological management, putting the welfare of
> ecosystems and public interests first-not that of corporations.
> Betty DeMar Mueller
>