This is particularly true, they say, in Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and here in eastern Tennessee, home to some of the country's most prized wilderness areas. They also are concerned that except for federal water quality provisions, cutting goes largely unrestricted in the South. Loggers here are not even required to notify state authorities about their activities. If you're a logger, you don't have to tell a soul. In response, industry officials point out that public demand for paper and other wood products has never been greater and that they regret the public's failure to make the connection between the removal of trees and the 5,000 forest products they use each day.
Officials also say they welcome detailed research on the subject.
We depend on trees. He added that the industry plants at least three trees for every one it removes. But as studies are undertaken, including an inventory analysis of southern woodlands by the U.S. Forest Service due next year, the opposition to chip mills continues to grow more vocal. These days, Gore says he believes that private landowners who allow timber-cutting on their property should do more for the protection of the land, and he encourages them to do so through voluntary approaches and partnerships, said a spokeswoman for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Gore is reserving further comment on the chip mill issue until the Forest Service completes its survey, she said.