Protecting the Once-Common Owl

Having recently returned from a two-month stay in the mountains of Northern California where my parents live, I got to see firsthand the other side of the issue regarding the spotted owl and Earth First! concerns.

As a whole, I found the loggers and people who live in these mountains to have more love and pride for the land than do the people here in Orange County.

Having taken a tour of the mountains and logging sites between Hayfork and Fortuna, I found the clean air, beautiful trees and overall cleanliness breathtaking. The pride loggers have for the land is evident in the way they leave the logged sites as clean and natural as possible--even replanting seedlings to replace the trees logged and any tree found to have a spotted owl nest standing.

I am not saying that the spotted owl is not endangered or that the raping of our forests is not taking place in some cases. But I do question putting the sole blame on the logger.

As a city dweller, I was hearing and seeing only one side of the issue, and now realize there is another side that needs to be considered carefully by all of us.

BONNIE MAGOON

Anaheim