The Bureau of Land Management preferred alternative of the Western Oregon Plan revision is a sell out to the timber industry that holds rural counties hostage.  Had the plan been unveiled during the recent building boom, it would have been easier to hide the flaws of the forest plan in the trees.

Oregon is more than a land of beauty.  It is also environmentally productive and profitable and must also be sustainable, respectful to endangered species and protective of all native species.  Further, Oregon has a tourism industry that also depends partially and substantially on the forest lands. 

There is a massive difference between profit and profiteering.  In the most simplistic terms, Oregon must be protective of the long term profit of the industry and be suspicious of methods of profiteering that allow investors to "cut and run" in the most literal of terms. 

There is no shortage of scientific research, common sense and plans to deal with the long term needs and advantages of Oregon and it's timber and tourism industries.  The long term solutions and enhancements of Oregon will come from this genuine knowledge base.  With a strong Endangered Species Act the Siuslaw National Forest (an international model for selective thinning) has found ways to work with the timber industry and the environmentalist.  They have provided timber sales contracts that have been remarkably free of court challenges.

To enlist substandard, short-term "cut and run" solutions that promote profiteering when we have real solutions that promote profit is a waste of time and resources.

I envision what many have envisioned before me - a timber industry that expands beyond the immediate and seeks long-term employment for decades of loggers, mills and finised products.  Forests are our diamonds, our unique contribution to the local and global market.  It can be enhanced and profitable in aspects presently over-looked and ignored.  Investments used to be beyond a few years - they required planning, shrewdness with an eye to future sustained profit, hopefully in expanding tiers and layers.  Clear cutting is profiteering - cut and run.  We must cut and run from this proposal.