Your Feb. 13 editorial "Much of Oregon would suffer under Bush plan" fails to appreciate the unique history of the source of revenue that has provided money to schools and local governments over the last 100 years.

The money has come from sustainable forest practices on lands initially earmarked for private ownership.

In the 1990s, that revenue source, timber harvest, was abandoned. Sen. Hatfield (chair of the U.S. Senate appropriations committee) provided for "in lieu" money from the taxpayers across the nation. (The second round of that special subsidy is now slated to expire.)

There is no acceptable rationale to continue the subsidy.

Innovative options should be on the table. Turn management of the lands, known as the "O&C" lands, over to state and local management in Oregon. Make very-long-term leases to timber-management firms and earmark lease payments to schools and local governments.

The short-term plan of the Bush administration to return the less-efficiently manageable sections of land to the private ownership and the tax rolls to provide the much-needed money has already received your criticism.

There must be some alternative to leaving this valuable resource to bugs, fungus and fire, and begging the national taxpayers to subsidize our local governments.