Foes fear you can't see the forest for the trees.

• Position: Western

Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. That also goes for value. Covering the landscape along a mountain road, trees are lovely to behold and create vistas that draw visitors--and their money--to western North Carolina. Thinned out, they provide prime habitat for many species of wildlife and a valuable source of timber. So the U.S. Forest Service plans to begin logging 212 acres south of Blowing Rock next year, despite the ill will the plan has reaped.

More than 1,000 people commented on the Forest Service's initial proposal. Watauga County, Blowing Rock and Boone opposed it--an uncommon move for local governments--and passed resolutions supporting a special designation to protect the scenic views that help drive the region's tourism industry. The Forest Service revised its plan and says it has bent over backward to accommodate complaints.

The harvest will be scattered throughout an 11,225-acre section of Pisgah National Forest, with no clear-cutting allowed. That will increase costs and reduce revenue for whoever wins the bid to cut the trees, says Bob Slocum, executive vice president of the North Carolina Forestry Association, which represents timber companies...