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Forest 'defenders' vow Northwest logging protests By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings With environmentalists claiming the Bush administration is working to weaken environmental laws, a newly formed Ashland conservation group vows protests and civil disobedience if necessary to block logging. Mazama Forest Defense recently opened an office on Siskiyou Boulevard to help carry out its goals. Other more established environmental groups in Ashland, including the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Headwaters and the Rogue Group Sierra Club, frequently rely on environmental laws in their attempts to block projects. "Mazama is one piece of a much bigger puzzle of groups working to defend the forest. What sets Mazama apart is that when other means are exhausted, we will take to nonviolent direct action," said Stuart O'Neill, a media spokesperson for the decentralized group of about two dozen volunteers. Late last year, Bush administration officials called for priority forest thinning and post-wildfire rehabilitation projects to proceed without environmental reviews. The administration also is limiting the right to file administrative appeals of projects. The changes would expedite thinning of forests overgrown after decades of wildfire suppression and would allow federal land management agencies to spend less time and money on cumbersome planning processes, administration officials said. But those changes, along with other administration initiatives, are paving the way for destructive logging and road-building, and are hamstringing many environmental groups, Mazama Forest Defense members said. With no legal recourse, many environmentalists will take to the woods, they said. "Mazama uses non-violent direct action when there aren't any laws left to protect the forest," said Lesley Adams, a media spokesperson for the group. Mazama Forest Defense was born out of protest and civil disobedience last summer when environmentalists converged on the Peak timber sale on the Prospect Ranger District. Tree-sitters occupied the site until December, and many people entered the area in violation of a U.S. Forest Service-instituted closure order. Currently, Mazama Forest Defense is holding a "Womyn's Action Camp" in Northern California to encourage women to take an active roll in the environmental movement. Activities for the week include climbing, surveying, radio communications and natural fertility awareness. The group plans on participating in Cascadia Summer 2003, a multi-pronged environmental campaign in the Pacific Northwest. Mazama Forest Defense regularly holds benefit shows during the Ashland First Friday art walk, and is organizing a canvassing campaign for outreach and to seek donations. An anonymous donation allowed members to open their Ashland office, according to Adams and O'Neill. "We're hoping for broad-based community support to keep the office open," O'Neill said. The community already has been supportive with donations of office equipment, members said. The group still needs still and video cameras, a photocopier, a bike rack, desk lamps, maps and curtains. Joseph Vaile, campaign coordinator for the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center, said the Southern Oregon environmental community is experiencing a shortage of donations, but Mazama Forest Defense probably won't hinder other groups' funding. "As the economy goes down, so does philanthropy," he said. "But we have different supporters than them. I don't feel too worried." Vaile said the new group's assistance in the environmental movement is welcomed. There is no shortage of work to go around, according to O'Neill. "With the Bush administration rollbacks, all the environmental groups are facing a tremendous workload," he said. "Another group won't detract from the others. The workload is tremendously increased for all environmental groups." For more information on Mazama Forest Defense, including instructions to the Womyn's Action Camp, visit their Web site at www.mazamaforestdefense.org or call 482-2640. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -