here are several other species and plant life specific to that region that are at risk besides the spotted owl. Another option would be to modernize the logging process so that the most is made out of a piece of timber. When this issue first became public in the late 80's and early 90's the logging industry was very adamant about how they felt on it. Some workers even adopted the slogan "save a logger-kill an owl". The logging industry thought that the government should maintain or increase the current levels of logging in the old growth forest in Northwest. Lorin Hicks believed that it is possible to "design a timber sale that would maintain spotted owl habitat after harvest" and also gives an example of a case where this process worked. Walter Minnick of TJ International had a different opinion, he believed that we should "set aside . . . some forest preserves . . .. surround these areas with some buffer areas." He also thought that the government should "release the balance- and some old growth-into the commercial timber base" which would help with the employment problem in the area. President Clinton's 1993 Forest Plan planned to reduce old-growth logging by 85% and retrain workers. For example, the state of Oregon lost 14,500 jobs in the timber industry since 1988. But Oregon's economy made up for that loss of jobs in other areas such as the high tech industry and the efficient manufacturing techniques used by the wood-products industry contributed to the economic development in Oregon. Many workers formerly in the logging industry took advantage of the $1.2 billion dollars provided for retraining and now have new careers in accounting, technology etc. Others recycled their logging experience and ventured out into the small business world by manufacturing wood products for retail sales. The government's final solution took several years to be implemented and, of course, it didn't please everyone but both parties involved thought it...
