Timber Industry Lies

I really hate the timber industry. Hate is the right word. Having watched them screw over the Pacific Northwest when I was growing up, I have nothing but contempt for timber executives. For them, literally cutting down every tree on the face of the earth would be OK. They say they are a conservationist industry that replants the trees they cut down. But this mostly isn't true. They opposed replanting when it was first talked about in the U.S. in the first years of the 20th century, and while they acceded to it because they had to, they continue to do very little replanting in the developing world today.

Matthew Koehler rips into Montana Wood Products Association spokesperson Ellen Simpson for saying, " "Those of us in the timber community are struggling to stay afloat with the housing slump, poor market conditions, and lack of fiber supply."

Koehler then goes on to show that the biggest challenge facing timber companies these days is a lack of demand. But Simpson and other timber executives simply want the national forests opened to logging at the most rapid pace possible. They absolutely could not care less about the forests. They don't care about jobs either. Logging does create jobs but they are unconcerned about long-term employment. Most of logging is automated now anyway.