Fight proposed logging project
(Original publication: October 24, 2003)

Many of you have heard about the massive logging project proposed for Mount Nimham. If you have not, it is because the Department of Environmental Conservation forgot to tell you. It also forgot to tell the Town of Kent, and no one knew at the county level, either.

You might ask, with so few forested acres left for the public, how many of us will benefit from this destruction of a popular recreational park? Why do we need a logging "showroom" here as the state is proposing? The "experiment" DEC has put forward would remove almost half the trees from the forests on Mount Nimham, apply poisonous herbicides and clearcut wide areas and then see if that damages the public water supply! Wouldn't the better experiment be to observe the forest as it ages? Has DEC ever done that? The park seems to be doing pretty well on its own, and many of us like it that way.

Don't let the DEC shove this down your throat and say it's good for you! Find out what's going on and pass it along. It doesn't matter whether you live near the park, hike, jog, hunt, ride or never set foot in it, the DEC management plan will effect us all in a negative way. I urge you to contact: forests@planputnam.org or call 845-225-2104 for more information on how you can help save Mount Nimham and Putnam's Highlands for the future.

Mike Keropian, Carmel