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Buzz,It really takes creative accounting to add up the total cost of state government services (employee salaries, benefits, office space, trucks, bureaucracy, etc) and come to the conclusion that such forestry services are "free." Free is relative term used in relation to charges made by Commercial foresters vs. state foresters.In Illinois trees are considered crops and under that , are regulated as corn and beansWhat you are getting is subsidized service courtesy of all the other taxpayers who most likely have never heard of forestry, let alone ever use this service. If the state government actually had to charge their real cost of the service to the landowner, then I would have no competition whatsoever. My state charges NOTHING...There is no fee to residents...regarding the REAL cost of the services...they are paid Directly through tax payed by timber sales. Obviously, this is a subsidized service. I have lost a number of really nice quality timber sales because of this.As I stated earlier, I understand you feel the state is your direct competition...so all of your comments Are viewed in this light Using your logic, it would seem reasonable for the State of IL to employ its own logging operators for private timber harvesting in order to guarantee to every citizen that logging is done to the highest standards. Shall we set the skidding and hauling fee at $4/MBF?I believe in supply and demand, My loggic states that the state of Illinois provides many agricultural services, and that the people requested them or enable them to do so. And that your argument that the state has no right to provide thwe services it does, is weak in that the state is in existence to Govern and regulate and serve the residents, therefore providing FREE timber services is no different thaan the soil management expert, or the crop analyst offering advice, it only serves to produce a stronger state.Given the huge state and federal budget deficits currently in place, eliminating subsidized government services should be a priority for all citizens of this country. Our state forestry program is self sufficient your argument is not relevant to it.And in case you were not aware of it, many state forestry budgets get 20%-50% of their revenue from the US Forest Service So? I have read the statutes that our logging laws are based on and to the best of my knowledge we recieve NO federal foestry money and are self sufficient
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