The Associated Press

MOREHEAD, Ky. - The U.S. Forest Service has proposed cutting storm-damaged trees on more than 12,500 acres of the Daniel Boone National Forest near Morehead, an area where environmental activists have been practicing tree-sitting drills.

If the proposal to cut trees damaged in an ice storm last year moves forward, Kentucky Heartwood could put an army of activists in the forest as a last resort, said Perrin de Jong, coordinator for the environmental group. That would only happen, he said, if legal remedies didn't head off the logging.

Activists gathered in the Daniel Boone in November, de Jong said, to learn the ins and outs of tree-sitting and other forms of nonviolent forest defense.

"It could happen," he said. "We certainly have more people who know how to do it now."

District Forester Dave Manner said the Forest Service has proposed cutting severely damaged trees to help the forest recover from the storm and make it less susceptible to droughts and insect infestations.

"It's based on a misguided notion that the forests need people to survive," de Jong said. "The forests were doing just fine before we came along. It's ridiculous to say that trees need people to cut them down to save them from storm damage."

Manner said the proposal must survive a period of public comment before it will be considered for approval.

"We've got trees that are very susceptible to insects and disease," Manner said. "We want to do everything we can to minimize the damage."