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Letters to the Editor, Jan. 18 Wednesday Jan 18, 2017 at 12:01 AM Protect pollinators Pollinator Project Rogue Valley and Beyond Toxics are offering a forum Feb. 11 at OSU Extension in Central Point: Protecting Pollinators: Benefits of Ecosystems and Food Security in Oregon. Please join us to learn about systemic pesticides called neonicotinoid (neonic). When plants, seeds or bulbs are treated with these pesticides, the pollen and nectar of the flowers are contaminated. The pesticide is ingested by visiting bees which bring it back to their hive, where even small amounts can build up over time into a concentration that weakens or kills the hive. Butterflies and other beneficial insects are also affected. Speakers from The Xerces Society, Pesticide Research Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, Trout Unlimited and Beyond Toxics will share valuable knowledge. You will learn what you and your neighbors can do to make a difference for the pollinators. We depend on them for our food and in this world of continuous and relentless pesticide use, they need our help. Now! For details and registration information: www.pollinatorprojectroguevalley.org/protectingpollinatorsforum www.beyondtoxics.org/events. Other communities have banned neonics. Canada is considering a country-wide ban. Oregon needs to step up and follow their example to Protect Pollinators. Lee Finney (on FaceBook, 'NatureLee Inspired') Gold Hill Do the math Oregon has a lot of trees. About 28 million of Oregon’s 61 million-acre land base is forest land, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. So let's see: Travis Joseph, president of the Portland-based American Forest Resource Council, said Friday the expansion improperly included several thousand acres of federal land that Congress has prioritized for logging. The expansion includes at least 7,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management acreage — known as the O&C lands — that the agency sees as “harvestable.” So let's do the math: 7,000 acres out of 28 million is a whopping three one hundredths of 1 percent (.00025). I have to say that seems a pretty small trade-off in exchange for a unique biological resource. But hey if you don't think biodiversity has any value, well, stick to your guns. Cut 'em all down! Screw the future! Brian Comnes Ashland