To the editor:

I read forester Donna Rogler of New Palestine’s rebuttal of Charles Cole’s letter in The Democrat and would like to comment on just one point.

Forester Rogler noted that 15 percent of the net proceeds of timber sales goes to the county where the sale was done. Really? Fifteen percent? That’s not even a good tip to leave at a restaurant.

Given the fact that we see our forest leave the county on the backs of semi trucks on a daily basis, trees that will take 80 to 100 years to replace, I would think that 50 percent would be more appropriate.

Also, the residents of our county are left to pay for the damage done to our county roads. We just had a tax increase to pay for road maintenance, and it seems only fair that the cost of repairing our roads after the timber sale is complete should be paid from funds obtained from the sale.

The Division of Forestry has spent a lot of time and energy trying to shine a positive light on this radical timber harvest policy. That is not their mission. Their mission, according to Indiana statute, is to protect and preserve our forests, to provide wildlife habitat, and protect water quality for the benefit of all the citizens of Indiana.

The last two administrations and their allies in the Statehouse have made it their mission to convert public land into private wealth, and everyone in the Division of Forestry knows it.

Curt Mayfield, Nashville

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