No one is claiming Hofmann is a pristine virgin forest except a few errant newspaper editorialists. That argument is a straw man at a pumpkin festival. What we’re all saying is that even though Hofmann is a managed pine plantation, because it is so huge and so centrally located and so important to water quality for 3 rivers, we can’t afford to lose it. Every decade since 1934, Hofmann Forest has grown steadily in environmental significance as so many other large tracts of forest were lost to farms, suburbs, and highways. Plus, there is a great hope that with better management and better leadership, Hofmann’s value for wildlife and ecosystem services could actually be improved through restoration over the next few decades, and generations of NCSU students could take part in that transformation.
Watzin’s twisted definition of sustainability seemed to be more centered on accommodating the oxymoronic principle called sustainable growth. She laid out her vision of how we needed to keep replacing forest with farms and houses, “sustainably”. The problem with that logic is that in fact there are only a few 80,000 acre tracts of forest left in eastern NC, and if you start destroying them, pretty soon you’ll run out, to the detriment of wildlife, water quality, timber and paper production, and human welfare. All of her points applied equally well to every other large tract of publicly owned forest in the state – maybe we should sell those too, to make way for all the people that she wants to bring in? (and, ironically, to bring in more money to teach students the value of forest conservation?)
The actual definition of environmental sustainability is using natural resources in a way that doesn’t diminish their capacity to support future generations. Future generations won’t be able to enjoy and benefit from Hofmann Forest if you destroy it now.
Another critical point is that the only reason the University and Natural Resource Foundation Leadership have been able to get away with the sale so far, is that all year they’ve been telling everyone that Hofmann would stay a working forest. Many environmental groups have sat on the sidelines because they didn’t see a difference between a heavily managed forest owned by the university, and a heavily managed forest owned by a timber company. Here’s an illustrative quote from Alumni Association Director Benny Suggs, in response to a bunch of angry emails he received from alumni complaining about the sale (emphasis added):
8/27/2013
“…We value the forest deeply – the land has been a part of N.C. State for many decades. And we set some strict conditions of sale early in this process that any buyer must meet to ensure the land continues to be an asset for NC State going forward.
Those conditions include:
Maintaining access to the forest for N.C. State faculty and students to conduct research
Preserving the property as a working forest
Maintaining the legacy of the forest by keeping the name”
Remember what Dr. Cubbage was saying about legacy not meaning much – well there it is – legacy means the Hofmann name, and “The Preserve at Hofmann Forest,” has a nice ring to it as a golf course resort, don’t you think? And yet Suggs couldn’t have been clearer – he essentially promised alumni that the forest would stay protected on Hofmann. Nothing against Mr. Suggs, I am confident he was sent that text from someone more directly involved in the sale.
They can’t hide the sale agreement conditions any more, you need to call them out on that and ask them to stop lying to you. Now that the truth is out about what Walker Group has in mind, the public at large is getting increasingly outraged, and this is turning into a major scandal for the University.
The prospectus is merely a reflection of what is in the sale agreement. And if you look on the front cover of the prospectus, it says that “Hofmann Forest LLC is a private entity that has been selected to steward the Hofmann Forest for future generations.” Not only is that BS about the stewardship part, given what is in the document, but this also strongly implies that this document was prepared after Hofmann Forest LLC was selected by NCSU as the putative buyer. So it was made in April or later of this year, and it was made after NCSU looked at the buyer’s proposal and said, you’re the one that best meets our criteria (see Benny’s list of promises above).
Again, NCSU and Walker Group can say they have changed their mind about the development and farming (they really aren’t even bothering to deny the farming part), but the truth is that development and farming are allowed by the sale agreement, and the prospectus details how much money Walker will make pursuing those activities – hundreds of millions of dollars. No one in their right mind believes that a verbal promise to protect the forest (contradicting what is in the legal contract) is worth anything 12 months down the road, when the media uproar has died down.
Finally, I want to repeat the point I started my presentation with: there was a right way to do this sale, and end up with nearly as much money as they’ve been offered by the farming company. All NCSU had to do was sell the working forest easement first. If they sold the easement, and then kept the forest, they could potentially have $50 million to invest in stocks and bonds, and yet still maintain the $2 million/year in sustainable income that could be produced from the timber sales once the forest recovers from recent overcutting. Plus you could then develop an even stronger research and education focus at the Hofmann now that you wouldn’t be trying to sell it all the time. So you could have your cake and eat it too. Remember, everything Watzin said about timber income being risky also applies to the stock market – witness the last 10 years, for example.
The Technician has strongly editorialized against the sale, they have picked up on the fact that we’ve all been intentionally misled about the fate of Hofmann Forest. But its not too late. If the Student Senate joins in with a resolution opposing the sale, that will make it clear to everyone in North Carolina that the student body at NCSU doesn’t want this scandal of a deal either. This is your (last) chance to go down in the annals of N.C. State history as the students who didn’t let Hofmann Forest be destroyed.
Thank you for allowing Fred and I the chance to speak at your meeting, and please let us know if you need any of the referenced documents or if you have any questions we can answer. We’d be happy to assist in getting the truth out to the students.
Sincerely,
Ron Sutherland
NCSU Biology ‘99
