April 16, 2016
Saturday AM

Hunter MacIntosh, who is obviously an angry and misinformed ideologue, in addition to peddling falsehoods in his April 8, letter (Time for timber to face the harsh realities of their own making) accuses we in the timber industry as engaging in distortion and receiving subsidies among other things.

Regarding his extortion charge, without getting into the legal definition which he appears ignorant of, the threat we are making is not in fact rooted in the reneging on some kind of deal we no longer like. It is based on the simple reality that the USFS, and the state of Alaska have not been able to provide any viable timber sales for the industry to harvest old growth or young growth. This is based on their own projections and is due in large part to MacIntosh and his fellow activists who litigate and/or appeal every single timber sale proposed. It is also rooted in the fact that the Obama administration has engaged in a policy designed to put the timber industry out of business.

Secondly, regarding the old canard of the industry getting subsidized. Please let us know where we pick up the check, the government must not have our address to send us this windfall. If MacIntosh is referring to the budget of the USFS, i would like some explanation as to how the USFS expenses such as spending millions of dollars writing Environmental Impact Statements,is any benefit to the industry. Furthermore, when The Boat Company files suit, how does the expense of defending the government by the USDOJ translate to a subsidy to the industry? Further, I would note that the costs of timber preparation is so high due to the difficulty of making everything litigation proof against MacIntosh and other dupes of the left.

Once the industry is gone, hopefully, for Southeast Alaska's sake there is something left around here to support the businesses that rely on the timber companies to survive, particularly in the winter, when tourists seem to be in short supply. Maybe MacIntosh can wander around Ketchikan or Wrangell and see how these communities are doing since he has been so successful in saving the sacred old growth. For our part and Viking's, it is not going to be a threat but a reality that we are gone unless something is done.

Brian Brown
Partner, Alcan Timber
Ketchikan, Alaska

Received April 13, 2016 - Published April 16, 2016

About: "Part owner and partner in Alcan Timber of Ketchikan."

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Time for timber to face the harsh realities of their own making By Hunter McIntosh

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