Hi tweets,

Just wanted to drop in to say how much I appreciate the spirited dialogue
offered by Don Baccus in response to Tom Merritt. The clarity and
distinctions re: old-growth, 2nd growth, ancient forests, viable habitat,
etc., are useful, really valuable to me. As a psychologist and poet, these
distinctions sharpen my eye and my psyche when I'm in the field. It helps
bring together formerly disparate pieces of data into a more comprehensible,
meaningful whole.

In regards to the unholy alliance between USFS and the logging industry and
their addiction to the overconsumption of our common heritage, it's simply
time to tell them no. There are many viable options out there. Let them
spend there consumptive energy on discovering new ways to find substitutes
for dead trees.

I especially appreciate the idea of "a suite of species," which
intentionally or not, suggests to my mind a more thorough, inclusive, even
artful consideration. Anyone who is at least half-conscious cannot deny the
powerful overall impact upon the senses that occurs when one enters the
domain of a genuine old growth or ancient forest. The experience for me is
indeed musical and sacred. I am aware that the impulse that motivates me to
feel more connected to wild birds, to study them, to know them in some
meaningful way, is an impulse connected to a desire to reconnect with an
internal wilderness that had been largely lost to the onslaught of post
modern culture. I know for certain that I am being revived when I stand in a
cathedral of old growth. When I am most thoroughly engaged in this process
of renewal, it is these small pieces of knowledge acquired here on Tweeters
that provide the subtle links, the melodic and harmonic variations, that
make the reality of genuine diversity much more than a buzzword. At its best
it is simply symphonic.

If I become caught up or emotional in the defense of what little we have
left in the way of NSO's and the species loss they indicate, so be it. In
some real way it is my life, too.

As an aside, like several others I met in the field, I had all five falcons
last Sunday in Skagit. Great music being played out there.

Good birding all,
Joe Mackie
jmackie at cc.wwu.edu
Bellingham