The Southeastern U.S. has become a new battleground for forest wars in the U.S. Whereas most previous conflicts over logging centered around forests on public land in the West, enviros and many others are now alarmed over the pulp-and-paper industry’s activities in the South, where as much as 85 percent of forestland is privately owned and logging regulations are few. Over the last decade, timber companies have increasingly been clear-cutting Southern forests to feed chip mills, which grind logs into bits the size of postage stamps. Since 1990, 156 new chip mills have opened up in the South, and they now eat through about 1.2 million acres of trees a year. Enviros, religious leaders, recreationists, and concerned locals have been calling for a moratorium on new chip mills until their environmental impact can be assessed.
