Letter: Logging Unnecessary in North Adams
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To the Editor:
I can't imagine why anyone would agree to log the Bellows Pipe Trailhead at Mount Greylock State Reservation. But alas, Massachusetts Audubon and others have convinced the powers that be in North Adams that this is a good idea. And maybe even a necessity to protect the water supply. This is completely unnecessary, and in my mind pretty destructive of the environment. Plus who is paying for it? Looks like some of it may be a bunch of public money for Mass Audubon and New England Forestry Foundation for their staff to get paid to do this. (Glad I don't donate to either of them.)
We had a situation in Wendell where I live. The state was planning a big logging job in Wendell State Forest. When we caught wind of it, we did everything we could think of to stop it. We had standouts on Route 2 in Erving. We had a petition signed by over a thousand people that we brought to the Governor's Office in Boston. We filed a lawsuit in court.
And while all else was failing, we protested at the site, some people even standing in front of logging trucks, getting arrested, going to jail and going to court on trespass charges.
We did our best as dozens of us from around Franklin County, to try to prevent the logging trucks from destroying our forest.
Now I am wondering if there will be similar protests in North Adams against the logging. I hope that people in North Adams will have better luck than we did. For us, it was the state (that means all of us) who own the land. For North Adams, it's the city. That means the people of North Adams. I hope you all make sure you have a say. A bigger say than Mass Audubon. Or New England Forestry Foundation and the Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership. Or a couple of people in the mayor's office.
Gloria Kegeles
Wendell, Mass.
