Fred Cubbage: Hofmann Forest for students, education

Regarding the March 29 editorial “A forest’s future”: Nice editorial and sentiments from The N&O as usual.

It is good to see that the university has agreed to keep the forest, but it still needs to fulfill and enhance the vision of “... using the forest as an academic research center.” The Hofmann Forest should be used for research, for students and for education (its original and enduring intent), and for benefits to local residents, who forgo property tax revenues for the “nonprofit educational forest,” yet pay for all the roads that the loggers and truckers use for free to access the forest, as well as forgo local school, fire and police revenues.

Despite the NCSU rhetoric and PR, faculty and students and locals are still being denied access to use the Hofmann Forest, which in no way fulfills its mission or its treatment as a charitable, scientific and educational tax-free organization.

So, the Hofmann should renew its NCSU and local education and conservation missions, so everybody can benefit from its protection and management, not just private fundraising administrators in Raleigh.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 9:33 AM with the headline "Fred Cubbage: Hofmann Forest for students, education."