FARRAGUT: Please, don't mess it up

Like General Sherman burning his way through the South, except he had good reason, the Idaho Department of Lands and the Parks Department have nearly reached the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. Behind them they have left miles of logging roads, stump fields and noxious weeds where once scenic recreation trails wound through the quiet forests of Farragut State Park.

Currently, giant tree killing machines are thrashing their way through the world class Disc Golf Course above the lake. Thousands of volunteer hours went into carefully crafting this invaluable recreational resource. Majestic groves of trees and vibrant young forests intermixed with dense thickets provided a rich forest texture. Humans found solitude, beauty and natural wonder while playing and the thickets provided vital security, shelter and habitat for wildlife.

In violation of every federal and state park standard and their own Master Planning and Park Forest Management Guidelines, Idaho is hell bent to turn one of the most amazing and valuable recreational parks in the Northwest into a tree farm. They have nearly succeeded and few seem to care.

Commercial logging degrades recreational forests and does not belong in parks. And more to come, Fish and Game will soon begin on the shoreline and have plans for the Northern Forest of Farragut as well. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, how sad. www.farragutpark.org

MIKE LEE

Bayview