Mr Sun and Hope Mountain in Takilma, Oregon (photo by Kelpie Wilson)
There's some promising news to report from my old Oregon home. But, first here is an interesting aside...
I'm online, writing this post from the Marina Silva Library of the Forest in Rio Branco - Acre - Brazil.
Surfing the Internet and searching for the latest forest news brought me to a UK GUARDIAN headline -- Ground zero in the timber wars shows signs of peace.
The AP story that had been published from England turns out to be about my old Oregon home where 26 years ago at Bald Mountain local folks started a grassroots movement to save the old growth forests of the US Pacific Northwest.
Yup, it seems like the new project to restore the misbegotten plantations is attracting global attention. Billed as a restoration project, it has the local sawmill, loggers and environmentalists working together to reduce the fire danger and create some diversity in the old monocultures. I would not rush to conclude that a new era has arrived -- the saw mill would still love to get some old growth -- but it's certainly a fine start.
My forest defender buddy Mark Kelz is quoted in the article,
Yup, it seems like the new project to restore the misbegotten plantations is attracting global attention. Billed as a restoration project, it has the local sawmill, loggers and environmentalists working together to reduce the fire danger and create some diversity in the old monocultures. I would not rush to conclude that a new era has arrived -- the saw mill would still love to get some old growth -- but it's certainly a fine start.
My forest defender buddy Mark Kelz is quoted in the article,
"I'm kind of hopeful and kind of skeptical too, because there've been a lot of fashions in forestry over the years ... there was the monoculture where nothing but Douglas fir and pine would be planted in clearcuts ... Now they are like, 'We need diversity. It's not healthy.' They've learned a lot, but they still have a lot to learn."
Let's hope that they do!
Meanwhile, I'm sure that Hope Mountain will keep radiating and that the good folks from Takilma will continue their long struggle to bring love and respect to the land.
Hope Mountain above Takilma Oregon shining with
Let's hope that they do!
Meanwhile, I'm sure that Hope Mountain will keep radiating and that the good folks from Takilma will continue their long struggle to bring love and respect to the land.
Hope Mountain above Takilma Oregon shining with
frost on a very cold winter day many years ago.
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