No more clear-cuts

"It's my property and I can do with it as I wish." While this may be the good old American way, there is also the way of the "common good." The beauty of Whitefish and the resulting influence on our economy is a common good.

Most of the people who come to Whitefish to enjoy its beauty (and leave their dollars) enter by way of U.S. Highway 93. The entry from the south has again been blighted, this time by the clear-cutting of a beautiful mature stand of conifers on a former mobile home park.

Careful pre-planning by the long-time owners, the city and the potential buyers could have enriched the property itself, the sellers, the buyers and common good of the community.

It is so often the case that personal profit overrides a common good. It is so often the case that laws, ordinances, statues and regulations are necessary to protect what the general population recognizes as the common good.

This obscene clear-cut should clearly instruct the adjacent landowners of why they should protect their 100-year-old trees.

Richard A. Solberg

Whitefish