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Editorial: Call it what it is Mr. Bush: Clear cutting Let's get one thing straight: Wildfire is not the enemy. Those who assert otherwise are either uninformed or deliberately using scare tactics to push an agenda, such as the Bush administration's plan to save the forest by cutting trees. The president is in Oregon this week, following close on the heels of U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., raising money for the Republican Party and stumping for the Healthy Forest Restoration Act - with a backdrop of raging fires to stoke fears and anxiety. The act calls for the thinning of 20 million acres of national forest, but the money to fund the massive fire hazard reduction effort can only come from the private logging of big, profitable trees on public land.But, these are the strongest, most healthy trees in the forest. They don't burn. Also in the bill is proposal to allow up to 1,000-acre logging projects move forward without environmental review if trees are found to be infested with insects. At the same time, rules that protected nearly 60 million acres of national forest land from road building and logging have fallen, and the ability to appeal projects has been hobbled. Cutting down the big trees will not make the forest healthier. It will only reinforce a mindset which allows private companies sway over the health of public lands. This is the same mindset which got us into this mess in the first place. Added to the mix is the fact that an ex-timber lobbyist is now an assistant secretary of agriculture, with final say on timber sale projects. While in Medford Tuesday, Hastert lauded the bill as deterring fire and reinvigorating the state's lumber economy. Bush will likely do the same. In the name of fire prevention, more trees will fall, more environment damaged. But fire has always played an essential part in the way forests grow. Logging has not. It's irresponsible to dangle a return to old logging philosophies as a way to build up Oregon's economy - that tree has been cut. We invite the president to Ashland to take a look at what community groups are doing here to clear up our overgrown watershed. It's slow, expensive work - surely not as profitable as logging - but it doesn't have the devastating impact that logging roads and clear cuts do. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -