An Aug. 11 letter to the editor regarding timber harvesting — between 2016 and 2018 — on the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Management Area in Hallowell (Jamie’s Pond) connected it to to beech leaf disease. While I appreciate the letter writer’s perspective, several assumptions need to be corrected.

Beech leaf disease is an invasive species, first discovered in Ohio in 2012, that spread to the Northeast about a decade later. There is no disputing BLD in Maine, however, blaming logging practices for its presence and preponderance is completely unfounded.

Forest owners of Maine, along with Maine loggers, take great pride in cultivating healthy forests through responsible forest management. Maine has more forestland than it did 100 years ago because forests in Maine are thinned, cultivated and maintained, much like a vegetable garden. This management philosophy reduces risk of fire, improves forest health by minimizing overcrowding of trees, expands recreation, promotes carbon sequestration and encourages regeneration for long-term sustainability. If these procedures are not followed, Maine’s forests could be susceptible to the same issues occurring in the Western United States.

Loggers are consistently targeted for the spread of invasive species and this is inaccurate. In the case brought up in the recent letter, the timber harvest on Jamie’s Pond took place almost 10 years ago; BLD was not discovered in Maine until 2021. I understand the writer’s frustration about BLD affecting healthy trees, but forest management is the solution, not the culprit.

Dana Doran
Executive director, Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast
Augusta