Simultaneously, the paper also declined to print an industry opinion piece, relative to the Forest Products Week celebration, regarding the connection of Montana’s forest products industry to our timber-dependent communities, forest health and the state’s economy.

I realize an opinion is just that, the opinion of the writer. However, apparently being employed by the paper does not hold the opinion writer to any level of accountability and gives him a paid platform to vocalize erroneous positions of a small group of serial litigants.

Gov. Steve Bullock, our congressional delegation and several respected conservation groups all support Montana’s forest products industry, forest restoration and, yes, timber harvest on federal lands. This led the opinion writer to attempt to debunk so-called myths about roadblocks to timber supply, and called into question the good judgment of Montana’s political leaders and these conservation groups.

The facts are, Montana is host to just under 5 million acres of National Forest System lands that are in dire ecological condition. Montana is fortunate to still have an integrated forest products industry that is professionally trained to sustainably harvest trees, and transport them from forest to mill. The timber industry has been applying Best Management Practices since the 1970s. In addition, as a response to an amendment to the Clean Water Act in 1987, harvest techniques and effectiveness have been third-party audited and reported biannually to the state’s Environmental Quality Council since 1989.

All timber contractors follow state and federal laws, rules and regulations. The timber industry does not purport to want to operate outside of the law. That is a ridiculous and inflammatory accusation.

These facts are why the majority of Montanan’s support the work of our timber industry. To call this majority a bunch of whiners does not foster solution-oriented thinking or activities.

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