Last time Ashby wrote to the Daily Egyptian he accused protesters of seeking cheap thrills while hurting wildlife habitats with manipulated thoughtless protests. Clearly he has never talked to any of the activists or considered the possibility that the issues and concerns protesters raise are real.

This time, in his letter Feb. 3, Ashby tells us There are no plans to log Bell Smith Springs. He is misleading us. In fact, the Shawnee Quarterly, published by the Forest Service, stated in several issues the service’s intention to permit logging in Bell Smith Springs Opportunity Area 6. Only the vigorous protests of the community and well-documented arguments before a judge stopped the logging.

Ashby calls for an informed population. That informed population exists. They know logging creates openings that will affect certain area-sensitive neo-tropical migrant songbirds. They know logging can cause erosion that will affect water cleanliness and quality. They know logging Bell Smith Springs Opportunity Area 6 will affect the ecology of the entire area, including the national landmark, in ways the Forest Service has not fully examined.

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The informed population protesting logging in this sensitive area in not pilfering national trust in forest management. They are resisting the pilfering of the national forest by those who we are told to trust.