Dear Randy,
I am proud of you. For the longest time you have inferred that Hofmann forest would be preserved as a working forest after its sale. In a recent interview with the Technician, you dropped the ruse and stated your true purpose of this sale. A summation of your position goes as follows…”I am going to sell this asset for the most cash possible and what happens to it after the sale is not my business.”
The Bible says confession is good for the soul so you must feel better.
It would be good if Watzin and others who have also promoted this preservation canard would come clean. Perhaps you can tell them how cathartic your admission has been.
None of this changes the absolute need to preserve this magnificent plot of land from the plow. I will not restate all this forest’s incredible attributes as they have been listed many times in many places. Rather the logic behind this sale bears comment.
All logic is a by-product of one’s values and expresses same. In your system, and to those who support the sale, nothing is sacred or special. “Highest and best use” morphs into “Most and fastest cash.” Environmental quality, wildlife habitat, aesthetic beauty, green space preservation and long term worth are too esoteric to warrant entry into your calculations. Indeed, the opinion of 90 percent of your faculty, students and alums is meaningless. I bring this up because a 5-day poll of the listed groups by the Technician shows that about 90 percent favor cancellation of the sale. But what do they know? Why should they even matter? Clearly the only thing that matters to you is money. End of conversation.
By extension, Yellowstone should go, along with the Everglades, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the thousands of other natural places and monuments that our society values. Indeed, the Louvre should sell the Mona Lisa for kindling—if the price was right.
I hope you are not embarrassed by being in this modern day school of investment banker philosophy or that I have pointed it out. This school has many adherents and sadly seems to be increasing in popularity in some circles. Eventually its fruit will be bitter and its followers scorned…….but not yet.
Regardless, its best that we all know where we stand and your clear message this week made your position abundantly clear and for that you are to be commended.
Ernie Averett
Master of Life Sciences , Botany/ Crop Science, NCSU 1981
Oxford NC