Job Cuts Threaten TN Forests, Watersheds
Monday, February 15, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Taking the budget axe to the Tennessee Forestry Commission would eliminate 28 forester and specialist positions. They're among 200 jobs targeted in Gov. Phil Bredesen's 2010-2011 proposed budget if a new tax is not approved on cable television bills and real estate investment trust dividends.
Axel Ringe with the Sierra Club Tennessee Chapter says these inspectors and advisers help landowners manage their property, so they can harvest timber without damaging watersheds.
"They are the only act in town to try to maintain some reasonable standards in how people conduct forestry."
Ringe says while the people in these conservation jobs have little enforcement power, the work they do is important when it comes to protecting the environment.
"What will be lacking is staff that can advise landowners of the best way in which to ensure the forests are managed in a sustainable manner, and activities there don't destroy the watershed. Removing them will have a noticeable effect."
More than 20,000 square miles of forest land in Tennessee are privately owned.
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