Editors note: Becky, Kathy and Jody Jones are the co-owners of Seneca Timber in Eugene. They offer this commentary on Oregon forest management in light of the closure of the Rough & Ready mill in Cave Junction in Josephine County. It is of statewide interest.

As third generation Oregonians and a longtime timber family, we three sisters feel a deep sympathy as well as an intense frustration at the announcement of Rough & Readys closure in Cave Junction.

This never should have happened. It didnt need to. And contrary to what some in Oregons urban areas may think, Oregons forests will be no better off as a result of this closure.

Our great state holds the most prolific forests in the country; some 30 million acres of forests carpet Oregon. These are predominantly second-growth trees. Over 11 million acres, including 4.5 million acres of old growth, are already in untouchable reserves and set-asides.

Yet the radical activists propaganda too long unchallenged has finally taken the ultimate toll: Oregon is broke. And good businesses and people are being unnecessarily penalized. In the case of Rough & Ready, 85 families have been thrown into desperation, forced to go on government aid to survive. They were good at their jobs, and their jobs were good for Oregon.

Their suffering and Oregons loss is due solely to fringe elitists legal maneuverings over the past 20 years, which have virtually halted all harvesting of state and federal timber. Rough & Ready is not the first canary in the mine to die. And if we dont come together for sensible, responsible use of our public forests, it wont be the last.

Rough & Readys closure is an unjustified travesty, devastating on so many levels not only to hard-working families and a socially responsible way of life but to the health of the forests themselves. Oregonians must reclaim the use of this vast, renewable resource. Keeping our public lands locked up is a shameful waste of our states greatest bounty.

We were raised to be responsible and industrious by parents who believed in self-sufficiency and an honest days work. Like many Oregonians of our generation, we were taught to take great pride in working with nature. We grew gardens, canned, hunted, fished, and recreated in the outdoors.

Traditionally, Oregon has been all about providing needed goods to our society, building strong communities, and preserving the livability of our state.

However, in recent years, much of that practicality and good common sense has been trampled by those who are least connected to the land. They have loudly promoted the fallacy that old growth timber is part of our industry. Nothing could be further from the truth. Old growth by definition is 250 years and older. In the case of Seneca, our milling equipment wont even handle logs that massive. Senecas average tree harvested is second growth 40 to 60 years old.

At Seneca, as with all private timber holders, weve been practicing sustainable yield forest management for more than 20 years, which means that more trees are always growing than are being harvested. In fact, we plant two to six trees for every one that we harvest. As a result, Senecas private timberlands have 80 percent more timber than when we bought them.

If public timber lands were managed as well as private lands, all of Oregons forests would continue into perpetuity as the most beautiful, productive forests in the world, full of clear running streams and wildlife. Sustainable yield management allows for forests with many levels of growth; offering healthier, younger trees to grab carbon and produce clean air for us to breathe. They are more resistant to fire, provide good jobs, and offer world-class recreation.

In contrast, federal and state forests unmanaged due to the hands-off edicts of radical activists are riddled with bug kill and fodder for fire. Retired forest service managers tell us candidly that Oregons public forests are a tinderbox, and could explode into the most violent and destructive fires this state has ever seen.

Continuing to lock up our public forestlands is absurd!

Our hearts go out to Rough & Readys co-owners Jennifer Phillippi and Link Strauss, and especially their many unnecessarily unemployed workers, as well as the community of Cave Junction.

As women with an abiding love for our forests and a deep respect for nature, every mill closure is a blow to us. Here at Seneca, we vow to fight for our state, and the right of Oregonians to utilize our states wealth and renewable resources to create prosperity and products integral to our lives.

We call on all Oregonians especially those in urban settings who may think their values are different from timber people to take a closer look at us and what were doing. We invite you to join us as true keepers of the Oregon spirit and our states livability for this generation and those to come.

Becky, Kathy and Jody Jones represent the Seneca Family of Companies in Eugene.