Student Government canceled the scheduled fast-tracking of the bill R73 Opposition to the sale of Hofmann Forest at the Student Senate meeting Wednesday night. 

Instead, the bill has been moved to the Public Affairs Committee, which will hold an open forum about the topic Nov. 25 in Harrelson 302.

Mary Watzin, dean of the College of Natural Resources, also spoke, defending the University’s decision to sell the forest. 

 “The purpose of the forest was to produce significant financial income for the programs in the college of natural resources, and we weren’t receiving those,” Watzin said.

Fred Cubbage, a professor of natural resource policy and economics, and Ron Sutherland, a conservation scientists with the Wildlands Network, both spoke out against the sale.

Alex Grindstaff, senior in biological sciences and the sponsor of the bill, said he disagreed with how the sale has been conducted. 

“I don’t think that’s how it should be conducted,” Grindstaff said. “They’re having to make budget cuts, and Hofmann came up on chopping block. Instead of resorting to selling assets we should encourage the General Assembly and the public to invest in higher education”

Student Body President, Alex Parker, said that the bill had very little support as it was written, and had it been fast tracked, he would have vetoed it.

“The sponsors did not really have student input, and it is our purpose to portray what students want, so they decided to cancel the fast-track.” Parker said.

Grindstaff said many of his colleagues wanted the bill to move to committee to gain more support and so that the members would have the chance to learn more about the sale.

“I didn’t want to delay it,” Grindstaff said. “I wanted to make a decision because the sale is ongoing, and I want to be react before any decisions can be made before harm is done. I understand the importance of taking it to committee, so the senate can have a more informed opinion of the bill.”

There also appears to be a dispute about whether or not the sale of the land is public.

Chancellor Randy Woodson told the Technician Tuesday that the Hofmann Forest is not public property, but rather land owned by the Endowment fund.

However, Cubbage refuted that point Wednesday.

“This is the largest publicly owned tract of land that is owned by the state,” Cubbage said. “There’s a little contention, but we have letters from the state Attorney General’s office that says the state indeed owns it, so I think we can certainly call it public land.”

Watzin did not address this particular issue during her speech to the Senate.

Critics have pointed out that the administration has not been concerned with conservation during the sale.

“It’s [conservation] something that we certainly care about, but it’s not our top priority,” Watzin said. 

“My highest obligation as dean of the College of Natural Resources is to use all of our resources is to benefit the most students in the most ways.”

According to Watzin, there are 1,442 undergraduates and about 400 graduate students in the College of Natural Resources.

Watzin said her job was to determine what benefits all of these students best, and that most of the educative field work took place at either the Shank Forest or Hill Forest near Durham, and not the Hofmann Forest.

Watzin said that 98 percent of the forestry department’s research does not happen on the grounds of the Hofmann Forest. Instead a majority of the work is done across North Carolina and the United States in other various forests. 

“We decided that the primary use of the forest should be as a financial asset and not as a teaching forest,” Watzin said. “It’s subject to significant risk. If a hurricane or fire destroyed it, we’d lose a significant asset.”

“Most students realize what’s going on and how it was handled,” Grindstaff said. “There’s also the problem this is the first some of us are hearing of it. Some senators have known for a while because of what the news outlets have covered. 

Grindstaff said the more students find out about the sale, the more interest there will be in making the details of the decision public.