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June 22, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels March 27, 2004 Memo to Doyle the weatherman: Stick to weather To Doyle Hirsch, your wise guy weatherman: The Scopes trial proved nothing. You are a moron if you actually believe in evolution. Even a three year old knows that this did not all happen by chance. A three year old also knows that a marriage is a mommy and a daddy. Rob Carter Ashland I've yet to understand the correlation between Doyle Hirsh and "Weather Corespondent" which appears under his picture. The majority of his quotes belong on the Opionion page, if even there. Sure, don't read them. I haven't lately but I thought I would give him another try but I chose Feb. 18. Needless to say, I'll keep my viewing to the left side of the page where the comics are. You sure missed the boat when you swapped Scott Lewis for Doyle Hirsh. Paige Jensen Ashland Doyle Hirsch is intelligent and a good weather correspondent. His commentary on the weather is generally on target. However, his political commentary is becoming annoying and tiresome. The constant Bush bashing is not remotely connected to weather reporting. Frank Hill Ashland Fire staff overreached with watershed With due respect, Ashland Fire & Rescue staff are neither foresters nor ecologists. Chief Keith Woodley told the Tidings (3/17) that watershed logging will reduce fire hazard. Actually, fire hazard will increase as logging slash, consisting of tree limbs and foliage, lay on the forest floor. This material is the most flammable biomass in the forest until clean-up happens. City contractors waited years to remove slash after previous operations in the watershed. Even after slash is gathered and burned, it�s debatable whether fire hazard will have diminished compared to pre-logging conditions. The distance between ground fuels and tree canopies already was quite high. If anything, thinning opened the forest and dried the climate, rendering it more conducive to ignition and fire spread instead of less. Fire & Rescue employee Chris Chambers (3/19) raised the specter of big trees succumbing to insects as a reason to thin forests deep in the watershed. Bug attack is usually how big trees die, if not from fire. When insects inhabit trees, birds eat the bugs. Many of the same birds drill holes in trees and nest in them. When birds abandon their nests, mammals like fisher and marten often move in and raise their young. Old-growth forests evolve through complex ecological relationships. Jay Lininger Conservation Fellow University of Montana BLM clearcuts an injustice It is a terrible injustice that the Medford BLM's Kelsey/Whiskey timber sale would clearcut old growth forests within the magnificent and publically owned 46,464 acre Zane Gray roadless. The Zane Gray is the BLM's largest forested roadless area and comprises a rare tract of low elevation old growth forest. The BLM claims they need to "improve" this wild forest using chainsaws and bulldozers. Located many miles from the nearest community and having seen little fire suppression, the fire resistant big trees of the Zane Gray do not require industrial management for health. The Bush Administration surely promised more pork-barrel logging to greedy timber companies as campaign contributions were made. The Government Accounting Office disclosed that federal logging losses at least $2 billion tax dollars annually in addition to loss of irreplaceable wilderness, sources of clean water, clean air and fish and wildlife. Besides the costs of preparing sales like Kelsey/Whiskey, taxpayers lose again when we pay to restore damaged watersheds. I urge concerned readers to find out everything they can about logging projects such as the Kelsey/Whiskey, visit these pristine watersheds and let the BLM know your thoughts about allowing industrial logging in this wild place. Spencer Lennard Williams Buckley shows real concern When Peter Buckley attended a rally for the disabled in January, I knew how big of a heart he really had. To voice concern to the media over the plight of the needy and disadvantage is the mark of a courageous man and a leader. Bryan Haynes Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams