To: Marilyn on the East Coast
The recreation the author is referring to is probably jeeps, 4WD trucks, ATVs and dirtbikes. Washington DNR does not want people crushing seedlings where they are trying to get a new forest established. They also don't want knobby tires to expose soil and increase soil erosion. Wood products from forests make it cheaper to own homes, not more expensive. Money from timber sales on Washington state forest land supports public education and helped keep my college tuition low.
We have vast tracts preserved forestland in Washington where logging is not permitted. We have many parks and wilderness areas in Washington that are the size of several East Coast counties, some well larger than Rhode Island and Delaware.
Logging is now banned on so much forestland these days (particularly federal forests) that some wildlife species are in decline. State forests are great because logging creates young forest habitat for game species like deer, elk and grouse.