West Virginians worry it’s a return to the state’s destructive logging past.
Fayette Tribune – The U.S. Forest Service has proposed to clear-cut and burn a number of areas of the Monongahela National Forest near the Upper Cheat River — 3,463 acres of trees in all. The Forest Service says that it seeks to make the forest more resilient by growing more trees that are younger in age, and enhancing wildlife habitat by creating openings in the forest.
Several residents living in the forest’s footprint are opposed to the cutting, fearing a return to the old days of clear-cutting entire mountains. Residents say cutting down the trees could threaten several species, pose a flood risk, and erode a major buffer to climate change. “This madness has to stop!” said Judy Rodd, executive director of local environmental advocacy organization Friends of the Blackwater.
Sound familiar?