Dear Sir:
I think Bill Sauer of the Northwest Loggers Association has it wrong in his commentary on log exports in the Jan. 26 issue of The Terrace Standard. Actually what the nay sayers to log exports can’t see is the jobs for the stumps.
Every proponent of log exports relies on some myths. The first is that a glass half-full is always better than a glass empty and the empty glass is the only option. I’m not going to get into just which sector in the logging industry has their glass full and which has it empty. That is a no brainer.
The second is that once we accept a half-full glass then we might eventually get a full glass. Really? After a decade you think it will change.
There is a way to measure how these myths tend to mislead. Just tell us how many jobs per cubic meter of wood cut we had before all this reliance on exports, and then tell us how many jobs per cubic meter of wood cut we get now. This will give you a better perspective.
Exporting raw logs is always going to be good for those countries which import them. Do you think that is going to change?
Helmut Giesbrecht,
Terrace, BC
