Well, the logging between Lost Horse and Roaring Lion Creek is in the works, 2,300 acres, besides some logging in Coyote Coulee area. Julie King said the objection period ends April 16, 2016. There have been 80 comments come in so far. It is sad to say these comments do not mean much after the Appeal Process was killed. Our Congressmen and Senator have been pushing to stop lawsuits. This cutting will do nothing to stop fire because if a fire should start it will go best in private lands. To add to this problem, 5 million acres was included in the 2014 Farm Bill for cutting and thinning, with our good Governor Steve Bullock leading the pack. I knew Bullock could not live up to Schweitzer, but I did not expect him to get way out in left field on this issue. Now, he is pouring money into this fiasco to the tune of $135,000 for this West Project alone. He just as well could stuff the money down a gopher hole because when you thin out the timber the sun hits the ground and grows more little trees. Now the Forest Service is spending big bucks just cutting the Christmas trees, one sale $50,000, another $80,000. Hard telling how much will be spent on slashing down the little trees on this West Side Sale.
Now to the roads they propose. The after effect will be a racetrack for motorized machines. You might just as well forget any usage of these areas by the game animals, to say nothing about the other critters that now use these areas that the Forest Service is tearing up under the guise of making it better. The bottom line here is paychecks for the Forest Service employees and advancements. Forget about putting loggers to work. Technology is getting rid of those guys at an alarming rate. The remaining sawmills will be gone in a few years. Then we will be left with the bills and the destruction. A lawsuit is the only thing the Forest Service understands.
Floyd Wood
Corvallis