I mean you can take a look at Soddy Lake and see all the siltation there. It use to be deep and now it's 2 or 3 feet deep. A recent study shows one point two million acres of land are cleared a year in Tennessee. The state legislature is expected to vote on the bill this month. Warren and Van Buren Counties are hardest hit by chipmills.
Small lumber buisnesses there can barely compete for lumber.
Tina Crawford has details. John Jackson is the third generation of his family to run this old lumber company. Every decade there's less hardwood available. The trees are not the mature size we would like to see. And that's in a perfect world.