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Coalition campaigns to protect wilderness 60 businesses, 80 groups support `Oregon Wild' By PAUL FATTIG ASHLAND -- A coalition of environmental, business and religious groups are launching a statewide campaign today for additional wilderness protection on federal land. Dubbed "Oregon Wild," the campaign is backed by more than 60 businesses and 80 organizations around the state, supporters say. Although the coalition released a map showing unprotected forest wilderness in the state that will be used as the basis for the proposal, specific sites will not be selected until later this year. "We're going to be spending the rest of this year field-checking areas, discussing the sites with the agencies and building popular support," explained Robert Lonsdorf, director of the forest protection program for Headwaters. "We'll be seeking endorsements from candidates and elected officials. We believe we have the science on our side, the economics and popular support." Close to one million acres could be included in Southern Oregon, he said. Those could include such sites as the McDonald Peak roadless area on Mount Ashland, the Rough and Ready Creek drainage in the Siskiyou National Forest and the 50,000-acre Kangaroo roadless area in the Siskiyou, Rogue River and Klamath national forests, he said. All three are faced with potential ground-disturbing activities in the future, he said. Unlike President Clinton's roadless area proposal, it would include both Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management forests and would require congressional approval, he said. "Several million acres of pristine forest wilderness in Oregon remain unprotected and should be saved as an enduring legacy for future Oregonians," Lonsdorf said. Spencer Lennard, representing the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, agreed. "Wilderness is part of who we are as Oregonians . . . wilderness provides us with our cleanest drinking water, most intact salmon habitat and important recreational havens," Lennard said. "Protecting wilderness is an important responsibility that we have to future generations." Not everyone welcomed the campaign. "It's not something we need," said David Hill, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association. "All you have to look at are the wilderness areas already set aside," he added. "They are not well utilized." Hill believes current environmental regulations already in place protect the federal forestlands outside of areas officially dedicated as wilderness. Increasing wilderness areas will also increase the demand for foreign lumber while decreasing domestic jobs, he said. "Is that good for the environment worldwide? I don't think so," he said. "This will continue to restrict the flow of raw materials that fuel a good portion of the local economy," he said. "And once they restrict the public land, they will move toward restricting use on private land." Campaign organizers counter that overall employment in Jackson and Josephine counties increased 16 percent between 1989 and 1996 while lumber and wood products employment dropped from 14.5 percent to 7.9 percent during that period. They also point to a poll of Oregonians taken last fall which indicates that support for more wilderness outnumbers opposition by 2-1. When asked whether they favored or opposed a proposal that would permanently protect roadless areas of 1,000 acres or larger on national forest lands, 51 percent supported it while 24 percent were opposed, according to campaign organizers. In addition to Headwaters and the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Southern Oregon groups involved in the campaign include the Siskiyou Regional Education Project, the World Wildlife Fund office in Ashland, the Rogue Group Sierra Club, Rogue Valley Audubon Society, the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, the Ecology Center of the Siskiyous and the Native Plant Society. Businesses backing the proposal range from Hillcrest Vineyard in Roseburg to internationally known Patagonia, Inc. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA