PAGE 7
CHOOSE THE FOREST
I grew up on Claremont Road, just outside of Astoria, and adjacent to one of the timber
tracts that you are considering for a swap I speak for not only myself, but for my family, vrfien
I say that more consideration needs to be given to the land-swap policies, especially before
actions are to be taken The property that is located on Claremont Road is a gorgeous collection
of new and old growth forest that my family spends time in daily. The forest looks much as the
forest probably appeared in the days that Lewis & Clark were here, and this area began to be
settled Some of its old growth dates back to pre-Tillamook Bum, which as I understand is a
rarity these days. When you walk along one of the trails that my dad, Norm Wentworth, has
created, you are taken aback by the beauty found there. The forest pulses with life, and
creatures as small as beetles, tree frogs, and a plethora of salamanders, to the majestic elk
that roam freely, can be found everywhere. Compare the beauty, peace and joy found walking
with my little brother, discovering all that the forest has to offer, to some far-off clearcut piece
of land, and I see no contest.
I feel the quote, "l/l/e don't inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children," should be taken into consideration. We need to preserve some of our forests, even
if they are in little parcels, so that someone like me, who has yet to have children, can take
their little ones out to show them what Oregon's wods once all looked like Let them discover
a hidden natural trillium. roll in a bed of pine needles, see just how big a grove of cedars can
get if left to grow, and watch a salamander swim in the tiny pool of a trickling stream. If I were to
try to have the same learning experience with a child in a clearcut I suppose she could discover
how much undergrowth takes over when a forest is lost, and maybe the biggest field of black
berry bushes she has ever seen. But I feel if you were to indeed remember and look through the
eyes of a child, you would choose the forest. You would remember the joys of a tree fort, your
favorite place to find flowers for your mom, or the best climbing tree around.
A parcel of land that has been logged takes many, many years to return to a forest
And even then, it will never be the same. It won't be as diverse, and many of the animals wll
have had to move to try to find a forest somewhere to live. We should have a combination of
privately owned land, publicly owned land, logged (and hopefully reforested) land, along wth
older forests to create and preserve diversity in Oregon. Isn't Oregon known for its forests?
Please don't forget and overlook the wildlife that thrives in our Oregon forests. We, as
a nation, have learned that we can't just move nature to an area or our convenience and expect
it to flourish. We tried that with the Native Americans, and look what it did to these people, their
land — and ourselves! We will be doing the same to our native plants and animals. This is how
animals and plant species become extinct. Just take away all of the habitat, homes, food and
breeding grounds for these animals and vegetation, and they will die. We should be able to
provide safe havens for nature, places she can still reign freely, vtfiere her rules are the most
important issue.
Finally, I would like to comment on the lack of involvement the Department of Forestry
has offered for the public to assist in decisions facing the land that is shared by all of us. I
attended the meeting that was open to the public last year (July 19. 2000) that was held in
a tiny, stifling room in the basement of the Astoria Courthouse. Most people who attended the
meeting couldn't even hear vtfiat was being said because they were lined up in the back of the
room and spilling out into the hallway. It was held in the middle of the day on a weekday. I knew
many other young and older people alike vtfio wanted to attend the meeting but wouldn't miss
work to be there. I had to take the day off. It seems that we all work hard to give money to
support the Oregon Department of Forestry, but they don't seem very eager to meet with us
to hear our opinions on what the public would like to be done with our money and our forests.
Shouldn't we be allowed to have a say in all of this?
Please, please, please don't trade our beautiful little parcels of forests for a pile of
stumps somewhere else in Oregon. Let our animals live in peace. And let our children grow
up knowing what a true natural forest in Oregon looks like. \Miich is not just a blueprint with
a lot of confusing lines and money figures on it.
MARGARET SCOTT
Kristen Wentworth of Astoria wrote a letter to the Oregon
State Department of Forestry in July in hopes of saving a
portion of old growth Clatsop Forest from being clearcut
and developed into a housing project by a gyposwap the
forest administrators promoted and sanctioned. Her father
Norman Wentworth has spent years creating a network of
trails throughout the tract that are well used and cherished.
INVOKING THE GHOST OF KEWPIE ZIAK
I am beginning to believe that land swaps, publicly
acclaimed as environmentally friendly, are actually a newer
method of allowing gypo logging companies to get at public
timber, leaving the public holding the bag with decimated
mismanaged land that will not regrow for generations, and
only with badly conceived monoculture stands of less than
prime timber.
What is being called a 'land swap' seems more truthfully
a land steal. A publicly-owned living forest in Clatsop County is
being traded for private cut-over and sparsely reforested land for
no other purpose than to butcher it in a like manner A federal
report indicates that land swaps have been unfair to the public.
This particular swap is a good example of just how unfair they
can be.
This is public land, after all, owied by the state —
which means those of us who live on or near the land are as
much its owners as any other citizens of the state of Oregon,
and we especially have a large stake in its ownership
The State Forestry only acts as manager of the public
interest yet it appears to make its decision of centralizing state
property from a headquarters far removed from the needs and
concerns of we who are neighbors to the land, which makes up
our own environment and daily lives. The desire to consolidate
state forest holdings is not necessarily important to us who live
on the ground These patches of forest are of themselves very
important to us as they now are
What is to be done with these 'swapped' tracts other
than log them, what are the reforestation and management
plans? How does this 'swap' affect the greater ecosystem
of the Columbia River? These questions are all in the public
interest: are they even asked?
Gypo loggers are in the business of destroying forests
Whether or not they reforest, their only use for trees is to destroy
them. But resource industries have just about been decimated
here in the Pacific Northwest. There is little left of salmon or of
trees in our neighborhood. All Martin Nygaard wishes to do wth
this living piece of forest we treasure is to destroy it for his
personal profit. He has his own land, which he has apparently
impatiently mismanaged and wants to dump so he can continue
his immediate profit margin rather than wait for it to mature.
The 'rarity, fragility and uniqueness of the Earth' is at
play here. Satellite photos show huge barren tracts of clearcut
northwest land that used to be great forests But all anyone has
to do is stand on a high hill and see the ragged quilt of clearcuts,
monoculture low-grade replants, and small patches of healthy
forestland that gypos like Mr Nygaard want to cut to the last
tree.
Perhaps a few folks remember Kewpie Ziak, the famous
'Environmentalist Logger1 from Knappa, who died in August
1990 He forced timber companies to stop cutting eagle nesting
trees, he set up a bird and wildlife sanctuary on his own land, he
protected salmon habitat and hunted bear hunters with his fists
P
I)
If Kewpie were still alive he would protest this forest
swap in no uncertain terms. So I wish to invoke Kewpie's spirit
and quote something he said to Studs Terkel back in 1980 for
the book American Dreams: Lost & Found that applies now as
much or more than when he said it:
"The timber companies don't want a single tree standing
any more. They don't understand that a tree, a snag, is not only
a hotel for birds and bats and bees. They are magnificent works
of art created by nature and beyond the ability of man to equal.
There's a tree down the road here a few miles that's over 10 feet
in diameter at the butt. At the very tip-top of it is a magnificent
crown of jewels: a nest of bald-headed eagles. Timber
companies are indifferent to your feelings I don't think they
have any feeling for beauty, for something that is old The
only feeling they want is tons of pulp to come out of there
".. The timber is getting so much smaller now... I've
been on the hills here and can see so far away, all this logged
off land It is almost impossible for me to comprehend that mere
men destroyed all this timber Every foot of that ground has
been stomped by men What happened to all that timber? It's
one of the few things in this world that boggles my imagination."
-MICHAEL PAUL McCUSKER
Statement at Oregon Dept of Forestry
public hearing, 7/19/2000
Specializing in Forest Inventory
& Reforestation
PHILLIP KEIM
Forestry Technician
Office (503) 325-2690 • Cell (503) 338-9691
1505 Irving Avenue • Astoria, Oregon 97103-3721
HOPE L. HARRIS
ELIZABETH A. BALDWIN
is pleased to announce the relocation
of her office for the practice of law to
536 BOND STREET
ASTORIA OREGON 97103
Across the street from her old office
(503) 325-5137
Telephone number remains the same
I cf,h Chip y
I mpavt&cb Beer on Tap
#1 mv 2 nd/Street
Alteram* 325-0033
LICENSED
MASSAGE
THERAPIST
503/325-2523