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41 °F 5 Day Forecast Thursday, December 4, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend October 18, 2003 BLM timber sale protesters jailed Bear Pen action stalled in peaceful demonstration By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune GLENDALE — Three environmental activists were arrested Friday for blocking access to a U.S. Bureau of Land Management logging sale on federal land in the Cow Creek drainage. The three used bicycle locks to attach themselves to each other and to a pile of logging slash they had dragged onto the road early that morning. Among the three arrested was Mike Roselle, 49, of Portland, a former activist with the radical environmental group known as Earth First! Also arrested were David Disney, 29, and William Morton, 33, both of Talent. Roselle is now a member of the National Forest Protection Alliance; Disney and Morton are members of the Mazama Forest Defense. Advertisement Charged with interfering with an agricultural operation, they were cited and released at the Douglas County courthouse, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department. The protesters were trying to stop the Bear Pen timber sale, a 6.1 million-board-foot sale purchased by the Glendale- based Swanson Group. Swanson purchased it in fall 2002 for $1.2 million. The sale had been appraised at $693,000. The protesters say the sale is illegal because it violates environmental laws; BLM officials disagree. The protesters cooperated when Douglas County sheriff’s deputies arrived to arrest them Friday afternoon, according to Lynda Boody, Glendale field manager for the BLM’s Medford District. "It was all very peaceful," she said. "They agreed to unlock themselves." The sale is a few miles west of Glendale in the southern tip of Douglas County. "Our purpose was to stop an illegal logging operation," said Jason Medema, a spokesman for the National Forest Protection Alliance. "We stopped it for the day," he added. "But this is a campaign for us. This is really bad logging that is going under the radar. We want to raise the awareness." The protesters say the BLM is cutting large trees that are fire resistant while destroying portions of the Cow Creek watershed which provides habitat for coho salmon and steelhead. A portion of the sale includes threatened northern spotted owl habitat, Medema said. But Boody countered that the timber sale is being done in an environmentally sound method. "Everything we’re doing is legal," she stressed, noting that the protest will not impact the logging plans. However, the agency is reviewing access and related issues at the logging site, she said. "We do have a lot of concern for public safety," she said. "We don’t want a tree dropped on anyone." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times