I must confess the state of Loggers hasn't really been acceptable now for a number years. Even prior to the 2013 tunnel chop up, there was heavy exposure of light during the first lift and the rest of the ride was looking tired.
It is a shame a general TLC scheme has never existed to retain a consistency of upkeep around the park. Whilst some areas have received some TLC, there are certainly areas that have been neglected now for a number of years.
The situation though of Loggers reopening/replaced is certainly an interesting one given the circumstances. At 27 the ride was always highly popular with all ages and achieving a throughout of over 800 PPH (much higher than Storm Surges) was impressive to say the least.
Given previous situations, how dead the area is (bar Fright Nights) now and there is only one other major expansion area, I fear it is more likely Loggers is for the lumberyard and not forest preservation.
Merlin as a company have a number of flaws, but there are certainly operators out there who are somewhat considerably worse.