The Northwestern Timber Debate

The issue of forest management in the Pacific Northwest is extremely complex and polarized. There seems to be very little middle ground between the timber industry, which depends on timber from federal lands and wants to regain access to that resource, and environmentalists, who want to preserve the last of our old-growth forest ecosystems. We at EBN believe that wood needs to continue playing an important role in construction. If responsible forestry practices are employed in producing timber, wood is environmentally preferable to competing structural materials (steel, aluminum, and concrete). If logging restrictions in the U.S. are too severe, we run the risk of causing problems elsewhere, such as in Siberia, where vast areas of ecologically fragile timberland may soon be clearcut with no environmental safeguards.
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