The Student Environmental Center and the Friends of Bell Smith Springs have found a new way to educate people for professional jobs through emotional responses. They think using shock value makes them knowledgeable in a subject. They also think protesting makes them professionals and that leading a protest makes them experts. Why are we paying SIUC for a college education if it’s that simple?

The SEC and the FBSS were passing out materials outside of the Student Center recently. They asked people to join their cause in stopping a scam at Bell Smith Springs. All of their personal statements on the subject (by unqualified professionals) were worded to elicit an emotional response. There were no facts to back up the accusations against the U.S. Forest Service, so I won’t talk about them. Let’s look at what they do have.

They say the U.S. Forest Service is part of the Department of Agriculture. Thank you for telling everyone. Agriculture is defined as the science and industry of managing the growth of plants and animals for human use. Isn’t it nice that they consider recreation and wildlife important, too?

Advertisement

They say shortleaf pine is an endangered species. They don’t say that historical records show shortleaf pine never was in the Bell Smith Springs area. The Civilian Conservation Corps used out-of-state planting stock in the 1930s to reclaim unstable farmlands.

They say the pine warbler has adapted to the pines in that area and that the Forest Service is obligated to manage for native vertebrae. They also are obligated to manage for native forest species that are displaced by the pines.

They say the Shawnee National Forest has lost millions of dollars within the last eight years to below-cost timber sales. The Forest Service has to charge all related fees of a proposed action such as legal fees, delays, excess law enforcement and groundless surveys caused by these citizen action groups to the proposed action. How much of those lost millions are related to the SEC, FBSS and other like groups and individuals?