Re: "Hayman logging nonsensical," April 6 editorial.

Can the Forest Service count? At a time when the federal deficit is dancing with $300 billion and the national debt is nearing $6.5 trillion, why is the Forest Service proposing a timber-salvage sale that will lose twice as much money as it earns?

Unfortunately, the proposed Hayman sale is all too typical of a federal agency whose fiscal-management approach is straight out of "Alice in Wonderland." Who pays? We do, with our money and with the health of public lands. And then the Forest Service hierarchy wonders why so many Americans want roadless areas kept off-limits to such timber sales. Boondoggles such as the Hayman sale are vivid reasons why protecting land can also protect taxpayers.