The 1937 O&C Act overhauled the timber management and revenue distribution scheme. It allowed the federal government to pay fifty percent of gross timber revenues directly to the O&C counties, plus twenty five percent (for unpaid Railroad property taxes) to O&C lands. In 1953 Congress directed 25% of the revenue to road building and other capital improvements on the O&C lands, leaving only 50% paid to counties. These payment schemes tied timber harvests to county revenues and made county government a champion of increased logging.
Read MoreBut what is more important is that wilderness offers something more than just its value to humanity. In wilderness is the essence of all life; it is where complex biological systems continue to function in ways that humans are only beginning to understand. Saving the remaining pieces of wild nature is part of our duty to ourselves, our children, and for all life on the planet.
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