Patagonia

Yvon Chouinard’s (president of Patagonia sports clothing) advice to the U.S. government regarding forest management (“A Company Decides Not to Grow,” by Donella Meadows, Column Left, Dec. 27) is shortsighted and counterproductive. We’re not running out of trees, but stopping timber harvesting will have two effects on this country, both of them negative.

One, we’ll be forced to import our wood fiber needs from the Third World, such as the Amazon basin and Siberia. Thus, we’ll be paying more for our wood, and using precious raw material of other nations that don’t have the environmentally sensitive stewardship ethic we do in the U.S.

Second, reducing use of our own forest resource while demand is growing will increase prices for wood to the point where substitute materials, such as plastic, steel or aluminum, will be more attractive. Without exception, these substitutes are non-renewable and require more energy to extract, process and deliver to customers.

A prudent policy would be to continue using our forest resources in a responsible way so we don’t have to import wood fiber from poorer countries or make ourselves even more dependent on oil sheikdoms.

BARRY CULLEN

Senior Vice President

American Forest & Paper Assn.

Washington