Pine beetle plague is being exploited to cut healthy trees

I wish to commend The Sun and Larry Pynn for the excellent series of articles "In the Wake of a Plague." This sober second look at the issues and myths surrounding the mountain pine beetle panic is long overdue. I have lived in the Chilcotin since 1980 and seen more than one beetle out-break, and each time the cries of fire, devastation and control through logging come to the fore.

Unfortunately this series of articles is more than a factual assessment, it is a post-mortem.

The trees are gone, critical habitats have been seriously altered or destroyed, the pellet plants are in place, CO2 footprints have been doubled, the forest is gone in many areas, and the companies have made a lot of windfall profit getting healthy trees for salvage prices.

My hope is that the government will learn from this debacle and make sweeping changes to the way our forests are managed for the common good.

The first thing to do is to rehire the legion of forestry experts axed from the Ministry of Forests and restore the authority of public oversight to regulate private enterprise on Crown lands.

Dave Neads Anahim Lake