Federal Crackdown on Timber Harvesting Threatens Local Growth
Obsolete federal laws are suddenly enforced against lumbermen, sparking fears of an economic standstill in the territory.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Commissioner of the Land Office has recently issued orders warning against cutting timber on public lands, based on obsolete laws not enforced for nearly fifty years. A judgment was recently obtained against a Mr. Tichnor in Oregon for $18,000 for cutting timber. While he was later pardoned, the government intends to use the case as an example. This regulation threatens the lumbering business in Washington Territory. If strictly enforced, miners will be unable to clear trees to hydraulic their claims, and construction of homes, bridges, and flumes will cease. Petitions for relief have been forwarded, but there is little hope for success as the government desperately seeks revenue.
“If the regulations are strictly enforced we cannot get a foot of lumber or stick of Wood after the present stock is exhausted.”
Conflicts between federal land management and local extractive industries have remained a constant in the Pacific Northwest for 160 years. The 'obsolete law' trope is a familiar rhetorical device used by those arguing against federal regulatory overreach in local ecosystems.
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