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Sierra Club chairman faces raft of issues Tom Dimitre of Ashland also lists opportunities By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Tom Dimitre would be the first to acknowledge the challenges can appear overwhelming. "There is the salmon issue, the Klamath Basin issue, " he said. "Up north, there is the concern about logging in the Tillamook State Forest. There are also some power plant issues up north." Not to mention the field of land mines to cross when endorsing political candidates in the coming campaign season throughout the state, he noted. "And, of course, there is always Mount Ashland," he added. The Ashland resident is the 2002 chairman of the Oregon chapter of the Sierra Club, which has some 22,000 members statewide. He was elected earlier this month to the one-year term. Dimitre, 44, is no stranger to environmental debates. He also chairs of the Rogue Group Sierra Club, which has fought the proposed expansion of the ski area on Mount Ashland. He has worked with several other environmental groups, including the Ashland-based Headwaters. Dimitre, who works as a union representative, has a bachelor's degree in biology with a minor in environmental studies from California State University at Hayward. While Dimitre concedes there are challenges, he is equally quick to list the opportunities to protect Oregon's relatively clean air and water. "Oregon has always been an environmental leader," he said. "One of our goals is to keep it a leader. We generally have a pro-environment Legislature, with a couple of exceptions. "Oregon is a beautiful state," he added. "We want to keep it that way." The environmental leader sees some positive steps in that direction within the past year. As an example, he notes that those pushing for a commercial ski operation on Pelican Butte in the Winema National Forest have dropped that controversial proposal opposed by many environmental groups, including Sierra Club. Contrary to what some may believe, the group, once the target of angry loggers whose bumper stickers read, "Sierra Club: Kiss My Ax," is not an extreme organization, he said. "I would consider us pretty middle-of-the-road," he said. As a statewide group, one of its missions is to work toward solutions, he said. "In the Klamath Basin, for instance, we don't want to put farmers out of business," he said. "We want to help solve these problems for the farmers while protecting the environment." Statewide and nationwide polls invariably demonstrate strong support for environmental protection, he observed. Like all environmental groups, the Sierra Club backed off after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the nation, he said. "Everything had to take a back seat at that point," he said. "There was a period of refocusing." But that period is over, he said, adding, "We need to get going again." Noting that the Bush administration is not seen as environmentally friendly by the environmental community, Dimitre said the group will take a special interest in this year's elections. One race the statewide group will be following is the re-election bid by U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore. "We haven't endorsed anyone yet," he said. "Gordon Smith has done some good things. He has opposed drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. "We'll be looking closely at that race," he said, then reiterated, "There is a lot to be done." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.