This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE (6-24-04)

Remember the poor spotted owl?

Back in the early 90s the environmentalists managed to get this little creature listed on the endangered group, and immediately the assault began on our forests on behalf of the poor little creature.

Without sufficient scientific study....they maintained that it was necessary to save all the old growth timber so the owl would have a place to live.

So.....despite the fact that the listing created havoc on the economy of a number of the communities in Oregon, including our own....the ban on logging went ahead.

Our forests were allowed to fall into such a situation that the woods were covered with brush....and lo and behold along came the tragic fires that left thousands of acres with nothing but burned timber.

Then....the cry was don’t log the burned timber because it might destroy the habitat of some of the other creatures of the forest. So...the timber was allowed to rot.

Meantime....communities suffered heavy unemployment and the state itself now has the highest unemployment rate in the nation.

We have thousands and thousands of acres of forest that are overgrown and need care. In the past logging has kept our forests in good condition and our economy growing.

The revenue from the logging benefited not only the logging companies and their employees but also provided funds to the counties and the schools of the areas.

So....what about the spotted owl.

Well...studies now reveal first that the owls live in other than old growth timber....not only that but another species...the barred owl has created destruction by cross breeding....and those fires that occurred because the forests couldn’t be properly maintained...those fires have also decimated the spotted owl.

Now....some scientists have come to the conclusion that no matter what is done....the spotted owl will probably become extinct.

So what happens to the communities that the pseudo science of the environmentalists have devastated?

As I’ve said before....if these same critics had been around in the old days...we would still be battling dinosaurs of one kind or another.

It’s long past time that the endangered species act is either changed or taken off the books.

Each day they come up with a new specie of one kind or another and they want it listed regardless of what that entails....what it destroys....

Every effort at getting any changes to the act in Congress always meets with a great cry of desperation.....and they appear to have the pressure to make certain it isn’t changed.

Even the latest efforts to affect the act admit that they can’t defeat it....they can only hope to change it a bit.

The case of the spotted owl....merely reinforces my view that these people are not environmentalists.....they are strictly anti progress....they would turn the nation back into a national wilderness.

It’s also past time to put our forests to good use by logging the burned trees....thinning and cleaning the forests where needed...and getting the economy of our smaller cities back in good shape.

This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.