 by Mark Cowley February 27, 2005
Well for your information, I lived in Ketchikan for 28 years and in that time have been on just about every mountain, beach and clearcut in that area not to mention every logging road on Prince of Wales Island from Lancaster Cove to Labouchere Bay. I hunted mostly clearcuts that were logged the prior year, and when I visited those same clearcuts 10 and 15 years later they were so grown up I could hardly see 10 feet into the woods. You misunderstood what I said. I am not for killing every wolf or cutting down every tree. Let's get that straight right now. I said it was a delicate balance. And if you don't thin these forests they can become infested with insects like the spruce bark beetle that can destroy a forest like it has up north here on the Kenai Peninsula. There is also the fire hazard issue if forests are not thinned. Again no one wants every tree cut down. But thinning is essential for a healthy forest sometimes controlled burns are used to rejuvenate a forest. A forest fire is God's own way to accomplish this balance. If you look at the stats, I believe it was only around 3% of the Tongass that was logged. Just enough to help balance and create many jobs for the people of the Tongass.. I lost my job like many others in Southeast due to the mill closures and was forced to move from my hometown of Ketchikan where I worked and raised my children. Like I said before, with popper management the forest and loggers can co-exist! NO ONE wants to destroy the forest. The logger helps keep the forest healthy!. Debra Grossman said we need to get a education before trying to corrupt peoples minds. That's funny, again, I never said kill every wolf. I said at this time, it is the best method to thin the overpopulation of wolves in a certain area. No one likes killing wolves. If you have a better idea or method than Fish & Game has then please let's hear it. If you can raise the money needed to transfer these wolves to the lower 48 where they are needed and if it doesn't harm or conflict with any laws than please do it!!! You make it sound like some Alaskans just want to cut every tree down and kill every wolf we see. That is not true. It all goes back to proper management - with proper management we can all co-exist together and have a healthy ecosystem! What has happened in the lower 48 is a shame, We don't want that to happen here that's why we need proper management of all our resources. This is only my opinion and is not meant to offend all the tree huggers. Mark Cowley
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