Forests and jobs

The article "Small Northwest Businesses, Towns Hit Hard by Timber Controversy," July 14, misses two essential points:

First, the proposed logging reductions are the absolute minimum that forestry experts - not politicians - determined are necessary to keep this nation's last old-growth ecosystem from disappearing.

Second, timber workers are responding favorably to the substantial job transition elements of the plan, according to an opinion survey conducted by the Pacific Rivers Council. This is particularly true regarding the president's proposal to spend $300 million to $350 million for up to 3,000 transition jobs devoted to restoring the region's watershed and forests.

The plan may not be ideal but is an honest attempt to ensure sustainable jobs in a sustainable forest, in place of the collapse of both. Sharon L. Newsome, Washington National Wildlife Federation

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