Bonehead ideas sometimes flow from state government. But, this one from Governor Bill Owens and his head of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Greg Walcher, wins a prize in the knucklehead category! Clear-cut Colorado's forests to produce more water, they say. What special interest got to these guys? What kind of fools do they think we are?

Let's put aside, for a moment, the environmental monstrosity this plan would create. Let's see, instead, who thinks clear-cutting our forests is a grand idea. Why, the Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who just happens to be a former timber industry lobbyist. He's more than thrilled to help us work out this little disaster. And, of course, our very own Mr. Walcher, who wouldn't know a devastated environment if it whapped him in the face.

This plan's proponents claim a study shows clear-cutting blocks of forest will substantially increase water run-off. That would be no surprise. What they want to ignore is the devastation that results from wiping out forests, whether by chain saw or fire. Have they already forgotten the huge mudslides and boulders that inundated homes in Durango's fire-ravaged valleys during last summer's heavy rains? Or the extensive landslides following the Buffalo Creek fire?

Healthy forests protect us from massive erosion and devastating landslides. They hold the topsoil that would otherwise foul our streams and fill our reservoirs with sediment. They act like a sponge, slowing spring run-off and continuing to ooze water even after the snow has melted. To remove the forest cover might ensure a massive spring run-off of water, with potential floods, but it won't keep those streams flowing through the hot summer. So much for the fish the supporters of this wacko plan promise to protect.

Of course, according to the "study" assuring us of increased water, the clear cuts would have be maintained as open mountainsides. Who gets to pay for this "maintenance"? The new growth trees and underbrush certainly won't have any commercial value, so no timber company in its right mind would continue to cut new growth. Guess that leaves us taxpayers with the bill for ensuring those denuded mountains stay nice and clean.

Then, there's the argument that we have too many trees in Colorado. Those pesky trees are catching too much snow and are keeping it from hitting the ground where it will eventually become water for our reservoirs. Well, I'm wondering what these dreamers think happens to the snow that's caught on these overly prolific trees. Seems to me that that snow melts, too. And when the snow melts off the trees, it also becomes water.

We haven't even talked about the environmental impacts of clear-cutting our forests. What will it mean for global warming? For cleaning pollutants from our air? For crucial habitat for countless animals? For future snowfall and water production?

And, what about the impact on a mainstay of our economy, the tourism industry? The beauty of our mountains attracts sportsmen, sightseers, campers, hikers, skiers and mountain bikers. It creates lots of jobs and brings billions of dollars to our economy. If what you come to see ends up being a mass of scarred mountainsides, why wouldn't you go someplace else, where policy makers support intelligent use of our resources, where you can enjoy the natural beauty that restores the soul?

There's no question that Colorado has been damaged by drought over the last couple of years. Savaging our forests, however, is not the answer to managing our scarce water resources. Local water districts are dealing with this issue head-on, in ways that may not be politically popular, but that work nonetheless. They are promoting measures, including higher usage fees, that conserve water so that we more accurately match water use with available supplies.

At the state level, the leadership is based on scratching the back of your political supporters. It's based on a shortsighted hope for large-scale water flows in dry years, with no long-term vision of what's best for Colorado. It's focused on politics, not principle. This is a great time to demand that our politicians make some hard choices and to say a resounding "no" to dimwitted politics.