Ponderosa Pine

[Graybread]

Closed for McKenna.


Alexander Cowan stood in the clearing of his newly built lumber camp, looking over the vast forest of Ponderosa Pine. He had finally been given the okay to cut. His father had been in the lumber business most of his life and had made some healthy contributions to both the Governor and Senator of Wyoming. It seemed now that that was about to pay off.

Alexander had been given the rights by the Department of the Interior to clear cut over half a million acres of Wyoming timber. It was his first opportunity to prove himself to his family and to his father mainly. He took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of the pines. It had the smell of money to him. He tuned and walked to the trailer that would be his office for the year of so. Tomorrow the crews would start showing up and the sounds of chain saws would fill the air.

He entered his office and pulled a Bud out of the refrigerator, then sat in the chair and popped the top, putting his feet on the desk. As young as he was, he felt confident and self-assured.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing can stop me now,” he said to no one, chugging half the beer.

He listened to the steady drone of insects and the twittering of birds drifting through the open window.

 

[McKenna]

Marla Hanson was a biologist sent from the University of Wyoming to study the habits and habitat of a herd of elk in the Big Horn Mountains. She'd been camping near the wilderness area for two weeks now, keeping radio contact with her Fish and Game supervisor, who was sponsoring her internship with the department. And even though she’d been roughing it for a few weeks, she still managed to look presentable; she was attractive, even, in a geeky sort of way. She had curly, light red hair that barely skimmed the tops of her shoulders and deep brown eyes behind a pair of gold-colored frames. She was of average height, average build, nothing really spectacular about her form other than she was proportional. It was when she smiled that her attractiveness was most evident, however: her brown eyes would sparkle and a single, intriguing dimple would appear in her right cheek; the entire affect was to make her seem as if she were glowing.

She wasn’t glowing now, however. Her face was flushed and her eyes sparked like two angry jewels. She had just placed her evening radio call to Hal, the F & G supervisor. He told her that her internship would have to end prematurely, as the habitat in which the elk which she had been studying had been condemned to be clear cut.

"Bastards," Marla muttered, as she set the radio down and started to pack up her gear. "Fucking bastards! What the hell makes people think they have the right to do this? To practice unenvironmental business all for the sake of the mighty dollar?! Bastards!"

Marla was steamed. She was upset not only because her internship was now ending, but that the herd of elk she had been studying the past two weeks would now be out of a home. All of this because the Department of the Interior in all its pseudo-wisdom granted some jackass the right to tear it down.

Marla had a strong notion to confront the bastards of the timber company, just to let them know what she thought of them and their dirty practices. In fact, she'd do it! She'd march on down to their base camp and give them all a piece of her mind! What did she have to lose? Certainly not her internship, and maybe, just maybe she'd resurrect what conscience there was left to the company, and by some slight chance they'd leave the timber alone.

It took her a good hour and a half to hike down to the timber base camp. Her anger, however, had not dissipated. If anything it grew to encompass her entire body so that when she knocked on the door of the trailer, her entire body shook. She had a strong urge to hit something, or someone. She was surprised, then, that even at this late hour of the day the door was answered by an attractive man holding a beer.

Marla didn’t let her surprise at his attractiveness slow her down, however. She shook a stray strand of curly hair away from her cheek and then tore into the man: “You! You have a lot of nerve, mister. How would you like it if someone tore up your home all for the sake of a few bucks?!”

 

[Graybread]

Alex was surprised to hear a knock on the door. He had no idea who would come to the camp. The crews weren’t due until tomorrow. He was even more surprised when he opened the door and a woman standing there. Before he had a chance to even say Hello, she was all over him.

“You! You have a lot of nerve, mister. How would you like it if someone tore up your home all for the sake of a few bucks?!”

“A few bucks..........tear up my home. What the hell are you talking about lady?”

Then he realized what she was talking about. He thought she must be one of them environmental geeks.

“Ah, I see.......well sorry to spoil your fun, but I don’t think there are any spotted owls in Wyoming.”

He shut the door but before releasing the knob he reopened it.

“Beside, it’s more than a few bucks. Its millions and I’ve got a permit from the Department of the Interior to cut here, so you might as well be on your way.”

He shut the door again and took a slug of beer, before reopening it, remembering his manners. It wouldn't hurt to be nice to her.

“So, you look tired and thirsty........you want a beer and rest for a bit before you go?”

He wondered why he said that. The last thing he wanted was some bird watcher chirping at him. But it was the polite thing to do after all. Besides she was kind of cute.

“My names Alex.........you wanna beer?”

 

[McKenna]

“My names Alex.........you wanna beer?”

Marla was taken by surprise for the second time in as many minutes. She had just come down the mountain in a fury and let her temper lick into this man, and here he was offering her a beer in the most congenial manner. Marla was so surprised, in fact, she could do nothing but blink and accept awkwardly, "Um, sure."

She watched Alex retreat into the trailer and return a short time later with a beer. "Listen," she said, "I realize you have all the proper permits to do what you're going to do, but if you could only see what you're going to destroy buy cutting this timber ..." she let her sentence trail off and took a long drink of her beer.

 

[Graybread]

Alex

Alex didn’t look at it as destroying anything. To him it was a big paycheck, years of income. His father had set up contracts with one of the largest lumber manufacturing companies in the country; all Alex had to do was deliver the cut wood as fast as he could.

“Destroy what,” he said looking down at her. “It’ll all grow back, and besides, after we clear an area, I have crews that will come right behind and replant. So what’s the problem?”

Replanting was part of the contract he had with the Department of the Interior. He wouldn’t have been given the permits to cut without the replanting program.

He took the last drink from his beer and tossed the empty on the ground.

“Well Miss bird watcher, I got a big day tomorrow so if you’ll excuse me I’m heading back to town.” He paused for a moment before turning back to her. “Can I give you a lift back to town Miss..........?”

 

[McKenna]

"Hanson, Marla Hanson," she said, but didn't offer her hand. She wasn't too sure yet what to make of this man. One moment he was congenial and offering her a beer, the next he was calling her "Miss Bird Watcher."

"I've got a better idea," she said suddenly, thinking fast, "How about I show you what it is that's going to be destroyed?" She could see he was starting to get annoyed, so she hurried her explanation.

"It isn't just the trees, it's the wildlife. Look, I'm a biologist from the University of Wyoming. I'm here from Laramie to study the elk herd that lives in this area -the area that you are going to cut down. With people moving into these mountains and migratory routes divided by highways -there's very little left of this mountain they can call "home." She stopped and brushed a strand of hair off of her cheek in frustration.

"I know it won't prevent you from cutting the trees; you have a legal right to do it. It's just," Marla sighed, hesitating over her next words, "It's just I want someone else to see what I've been studying these past few weeks before the chance is taken away, forever."

Marla looked out over the opposing ridge and noticed the slant of the sun. It would soon be dark, and she needed to get back up that mountain if she wanted to make it to camp while there was still daylight.

"Look, come or don't come. It just seems a shame that I'm going to be the only one who sees this before it's gone ," and with that she turned to go.