by Paula Stahl

Created on: December 12, 2008

There is a book famous in this area called "Tumult In the Mountians". It is a historical book, full of photographs about the turn of the last century when this area was clear cut. And that is saying it without any emotion or discriptive words. The title of the book speaks volumes.
During what was known as the "Industrial Age" this area had been discoverd and its rich virgin forests and beds of coal.

The raping of the land began. Lumber companies came and clear cut mountian after mountian, leaving behind mounds of mud that the rains eroded, and devasted landscapes that looked as though they would never heal. The photos show skids, where they slid the enormous logs down the mountian sides, men working with horse teams, dozens of roads cut in hillsides ....and that was just to cut the timber. Then, there were the boon towns, the saw mills, the trains and tracks that were put in to haul the logs out. It was a desolate wasteland of muddy stumps. A time of mud, and sawdust, and sweaty men with arms cut off.
Once the companies cut the timber and cut the roads and hauled away what was worth money, the people left behind dealt with the aftermath. The mud, the land changes from erosion, and the flooding that came because the timber was gone that held back and obsorbed the rain. Grandpa told me of a flood in the early 1900's and showed me where the water went, and the courses of the creek that changed from one side of the small valleys to the other....all as a result of this pillageing.
And, this is not even mentioning what has happened in this state in the last century over coal.
Of course timber, grows back. Those who are in favor of timber cutting will cite that as a reason. They will tell you that everything has a time of harvest.
The problem is, corn grows back each year, and you harvest it knowing you will harvest again next year. The timber however, takes 70 to 100 years to grow back, and it is no where near as magnificent as it was in 100 years. It is really just barely big enough to claim.
100 Years. That, is a long time by human standards.

I know of 15 proposed wind mill projects in the state. I know of 2 major power line projects in my county alone. Most people think...."power line...big deal, they are around us everywhere and not so bad. But these are not little wooden poles like the ones by your house. These are huge metal towers, the largest ones available in the world today. These will tower above the trees, above everything dwarfing it all. They have to cut

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