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--> --> Message is clear: Stop old-growth logging on our public lands By Stuart O'Neill Ashland On a recent morning, as the clouds broke over Central Point, the Medford District BLM and the timber industry got together again to sell off our ancient forests for pennies on the dollar. Thousands of acres of old-growth forests, stretching from the Indian Plateau to the Umpqua Basin, were auctioned to the highest bidder. In an outrageous display of collusion, our government agents (BLM, Jackson County Sheriffs, and local police) attempted to lock out the voice of the public that gathered at the fairgrounds to protest the pillage of public lands for corporate profits. The authorities went as far as illegally detaining peaceful protesters in an attempt to thwart the message of the people. An overwhelming majority of Americans wish to see an end to old-growth logging on public lands. Yet the government agencies charged with the job of managing our public lands continue to show their true allegiance to the timber corporations that profit tremendously from destroying ancient forests. Meanwhile, the media continues to frame the story as jobs versus ecology. Unfortunately, this simplistic viewpoint skews the true story of corporate domination over communities and ecosystems. The timber industry is no more interested in protecting the small communities that depend on logging than the ecosystems that we all depend on for clean air and clean water. Again and again, the timber industry has posed the argument of jobs versus ecology as an excuse to wage war upon the forest. As long as those in power can keep us polarized and distrustful of one another, they can continue the business of plundering for profit unchecked. The fact is, environmentalists and timber families share more values than not. They are two powerless factions whose fear and ignorance is manipulated into patterns of scapegoating and misplaced antagonism. The timber industry no longer depends on logging old growth from public lands to survive. Most of the timber extracted from the landscape comes from the vast private timberlands owned and managed by the industry. These private lands combined with the thousands of acres of public lands already converted to tree farms can provide all the wood products needed to supply our demands, as well as maintain a viable resource based economy of scale. This will benefit communities far more than the continued degradation and exploitation of the landscape. If we allow the destruction of our last stands of old growth, not only will we lose the ecosystems that provide air and water, but the jobs that provide a living for the people in our communities. We have pushed the ecological balance of our forests to the edge of survival by decades of mismanagement and neglect. Contrary to what Southern Oregon Timber Industry Association spokesman David Hill will tell you, a forest is nothing like a farmer's crops. A forest is an integral community of life that cannot be grown like tomatoes. If we continue to look upon our forests as a commodity to be profited from, we will lose the balance that has been established on the land for millennia. SOTIA clearly sees our forests as commodities to be exploited and uses its power of influence to spread misinformation to the public about forest ecology. SOTIA speaks for the timber industry executives who stand to benefit the most from the destruction of our last native forests. Over 100 concerned citizens gathered at the Jackson County Expo Park that morning to tell the government and the timber industry that we have had enough. We want to see an end to old growth logging on public lands. We want to see an end to the corporate welfare that sells of OUR forests for pennies on the dollar. We want to see a transition from an economy of exploitation and greed to an economy of restoration and ecological integrity. Our message is clear. No more old growth logging on public lands. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing