Document text
OVERCAST Temp: 51 °F Wind: WNW at 7 mph Wednesday, February 19, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend January 19, 2003 County timber video called biased The 15-minute video makes a case for doubling the board feet logged annually in Oregon to stimulate the economy By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune A video commissioned by Jackson County that promotes increased timber production to bolster Oregon’s flagging economy has been criticized as one-sided and a waste of taxpayer dollars. "Old timber beasts never die, they just create propaganda videos with taxpayer money," said Dave Willis, chairman of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council. Commissioners counter that Jackson County has a huge stake in advocating logging, since $22 million flows here annually from federal timber revenues. Willis said the "Pendulum Partnership" video, approved last year by commissioners Jack Walker, Sue Kupillas and Ric Holt, gives the appearance of presenting a balanced approach to logging but actually gives short shrift to environmental concerns, making some of the assertions in the production suspect. The 15-minute video, released this month, features county commissioners and other officials making a case for doubling the 3.5 billion board feet logged annually in Oregon as a way to stimulate the economy. This increase in logging, according to the video, would create 75,000 jobs, produce $5 billion in payroll and generate $450 million in income taxes to shore up the state budget. Kupillas agreed the video was top heavy in its description of the economic benefits of increased timber production, but she said everything described falls under the guidelines set in the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan. In light of the 600,000 acres that burned in southwestern Oregon in last summer’s wildfires, Kupillas urges better management of forests to reduce the fuel load and also provide a benefit to the Oregon economy. "It’s a very legitimate concern for the state of Oregon and Jackson County," she said. "I don’t want to just burn them up. It doesn’t make any sense on a national level or a local level." Kupillas said environmentalists fear timber companies won’t exercise restraint in their logging practices. "Their attitude is, if you let them in there to do a little thinning, they will rape and pillage," she said. But Kupillas thinks environmentalists are basing this attitude on past logging practices and not current methods, which she says are mindful of environmental concerns. The county considered seeking private funding for the video, but Kupillas said commissioners didn’t want the production to smack of bias. Kupillas and other county officials couldn’t say how much the video cost to produce, explaining they are awaiting a bill from a local advertising firm, The Maentz Agency. County Administrator Sue Slack said $18,000 was budgeted for this video and other productions and meetings that promote the interests of the county. "This is not an appropriate use of county taxpayer dollars," said resident Nancy Ames Cole, citing a growing budget shortfall. "I haven’t seen any evidence that county money should be spent on federal issues." Cole, who owns 1,421 acres adjacent to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, believes the video is an example of commissioners pursuing a personal agenda at public expense. After watching the video, Cole said some of the assertions require more scrutiny, particularly the ability to harvest another 3.5 billion board feet. Walker said the video wasn’t created to give a balance of both environmental and logging interests. "The point of the video is to be factual," he said. Walker said one of the goals of the video is to show that Oregon’s forests can be harvested while protecting habitat. "We have to get logical and use common sense about our natural resources," he said. "There isn’t anyone who wouldn’t admit that violations took place in the timber industry." Walker, justifying the expense of the production, said a video promoting the Medford air tanker base helped keep the facility open. Amy Amrhein, an Ashland school board member and Oregon League of Conservation Voters member, found the video favored the timber industry. But Amrhein was more critical of supervisors spending money on a video as they face the prospect of budget cuts. "We need to shine a little more light on their budget processing," said Amrhein. "It’s a questionable use of our tax dollars in a tight financial time." New commissioner Dave Gilmour, who replaced Holt this month, said the video attempted to be balanced, but he questioned spending money to make it. "During the coming years, we have to look at the funding of these videos," he said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S