LETTER: Look at the German model for harvesting timber

The recent announcement of the closure of Plum Creek Lumber Mill in Columbia Falls got me to thinking (always a danger!). In terms of how our federal government should handle our national forest, I think they should look at what Germany does with its forests. For the past 300 years Germany looks upon their lumber forests as a crop. Many homes in Germany are still built only of wood and many homes are still heated with wood. As a crop, for every tree cut down, a new one is planted.

And just like a farmer controls his weeds, the Germans keep their forest floor fairly uncluttered, which helps to reduce the number of large fires. Hunters and environmentalists are both satisfied as to what is being controlled by the federal government.

There is more than enough wood to sustain the timber industry.

There is nothing wrong with looking to another country for guidance to help us provide more than enough lumber for our wood industry.

—Roger Dellinger, Whitefish