TH E WARRANT

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To get peacer you cannot avoid life

For months we have gotten up and gone to work with the threat of war hanging in the balance. Today, it seems all but inevitable, perhaps even by the time you read this column. Along with all the other issues such as September 11, the economy, corporate malfeasance, Afghanistan, anthrax, depleted 40lk's, etc., while we may sell lumber and building products, we cannot avoid what is going on around us. However, while the last couple of years certainly have been concerning for us all, life does and must continue.

As regular readers of this column know, I grew up in England just after World War II. My earliest recollections were houses and buildings around our home being bombed out. I remember basics such as butter, cheese and eggs being rationed. I remember the fight for food in our house and the race for seconds. I remember watching Red Cross demonstrations of how to survive and treat the injured should war break out again. I learned of the horrors of war from my father who was in the R.A.F. in Africa, and my uncle in the Navy. I marched in Remembrance Day parades, when I walked with the disabled and maimed. I cannot ever remember playing soldiers as a kid, as even at an early age it did not seem right. I am proud of my heritage, of my country of birth, and the fact that despite all the odds at its darkest hour it stood up to be counted to defend itself from tyranny. Despite the will of the British people, our deliverance would not have been possible without the support of its allies, in particular, the United States of America. I think that is remembered, and perhaps is the reason that there is such a special relationship between the two nations.

Today, we face a new challenge. There are many who do not want us to go to war-who does? I understand that position, and my hope is also that we can still peaceably resolve this issue. As I write this column, there are peace marches being held around the world including the U.K. and the U.S.A. I understand that sentiment, and recognize the right of every individual in the free world to express their opinions and concerns. Responsible dissent is not unpatriotic. We should feel lucky that we have those freedoms, unlike in Iraq where you can be made to disappear fast, have your tongue cut out or watch your family be tortured. In those "free elections" last year, Saddam Hussein got99.997o of the vote. I wonder whyl

I do believe war should be a last resort, but it should be a resort. You cannot make peace with the devil. Once a despot, always a despot. Despots might even hide for a few years, but back they will come. In 1938, the British Prime Minister signed a peace deal with Hitler. We all know the outcome in 1939.

Does anyone seriously believe that after the Gulf War, Iraq threw its weapons away to concentrate on building a better life and retirement for its citizens? Does anyone seriously believe that any of us want to see our forces put in harms way? Does anyone believe that we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on homeland security because no one wants to harm us? The current division created by some of our allies is diverting our strength, and is giving the Iraqi leadership hope that time will be on their side, and once again they will get away with it. The horrors of war are difficult to contemplate, but leaving a sore as an open wound leads to a serious infection.

Our troops deserve our thanks and support for what they are about to undertake to preserve the freedoms that we have all grown up with. History has shown that unless you stand up to be counted there is a price to be paid. In light of the last two years, perhaps that time is now.

P.S. As it's tax time, did you ever notice what happens when you put "THE" and "IRS" together?

Forest Certification Catching On In North America

Forest certification gained strength Association standard underwent a sigin the North American forest sector nificant revision, while regional stanover the past year, according to a new dard development continued under the report by Certification Watch. FSC, particularly for British Columbia

The report shows that in the U.S., and the boreal forests. the Sustainable Forestry Initiative pro- The year 2002 saw substantial gram proved to be highly active in increases in certified areas in North 2002, with a revision of the standard America. The SFI program recorded aimed at the protection of forests with significant gains in certified area in exceptional conservation value and the first use and subsequent promotion of the SFI on-product label.

The development of Forest Stewardship Council regional standards in the U.S. continued, while two standards were approved by FSCInternational for two major timber producing regions. Substantial work was carried out to modernize the Tree Farm System and to ensure its mutual recognition with the SFI.

In Canada, the province of New Brunswick made forest certification compulsory on public forest lands, making it the first jurisdiction in the world to mandate forest certification to licensees. The Forest Products Association of Canada decided to require forest certification for membership in the organization beyond 2006. The Canadian Standards

Certification lllakes Difference

At the Hoopa Valley Tribal forest in Northern California. clearcuts ordered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs stand in stark conffast with the variable retention units the tribe now practices under the Forest Stewardship Council system.

And, Mendocino Redwood Co., having acquired 220,OAA acres of coastal redwood timberland, ig implementing a variety of innovatile silvi cultural strategies designed not only to restore an ecosystem containing healthy watersheds as well as habitat for a variety of wildlife, but while doing so maintains a production forest that help$ $upport five sawmills and 450 employees in rural, economicallychallenged Mendocino County.

The FSC Principles and Criteria make up a "three-legged stool," whose legs represent Economic, Social, and Environmental membership chambers. On the Hoopa Valley Reservation, for instance, the Tribe's paramount interest is in sustaining its 7,000-year-old culture. But the Tribe is also dependent on timber as its primary source of income, without which it could not survive in the political or economic milieu of modern industrialized society. Hoopa Forest Industries, though, just as any other forestry operation, is ultimately dependent on a healthy ecosystem in order to continue to harvest timber from the foregt.

2002, with total certified acreage in North America reaching 70.7 million acres. Since last year, the total areas certified to SFI increased by 9.6 million acres in the U.S. and ll.2 million acres in Canada.

CSA-certified areas grew by 637o to reach 36 million acres. FSC-certified areas covered a total of l2 million acres in North America.

California, Oregon and Washington have the most forests in the FSC system, and in many ways the most diverse forests-a diversitv that FSC strives to sustain.

At Britt Lumber, we specialize in redwood fence posts, boards, rails, decking and balustersmade directly from the log in our modern sawmill. We're large enough to meet your customers' needs, yet smallenough to care and provide the personal seruice you need.