Document text
M/CLOUDY Temp: 42 °F Wind: WNW at 3 mph Monday, March 3, 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 September 28, 2002 Tree sitter wants old forest saved Prospect Ranger District says Peak timber sale fallers are operating at a safe distance By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune PROSPECT — Perched on a platform made from a sheet and a half of plywood more than 100 feet above the ground, the young man who calls himself John thought for a moment before answering the obvious question. "There are some things more important than profit," he said during a cell phone interview Friday afternoon. "The ancient forest is one of those things. "I’m here to not let it happen without resistance." John, who declined to provide his real name, age or hometown, is one of at least two members of a group calling itself the Mazama Forest Defenders. They have taken to the trees in an attempt to halt logging on the Peak timber sale in the Prospect Ranger District of the Rogue River National Forest about 10 miles west of the Crater Lake National Park boundary. Fallers on Monday began cutting trees on the sale, where at least one tree sitter has been perched since mid-July. A spokeswoman for the group said a faller was putting the tree sitters’ lives in jeopardy Friday by cutting too close to the occupied trees, a claim the agency denied. The closest tree cut near the tree sitters on Friday was about 60 feet away, and it was cut to fall opposite from the occupied trees, said Paul Galloway, Prospect Ranger District spokesman. "We have continued to fall trees in there," he said. "We’re making sure no one is injured. We don’t anticipate any injuries." John claimed the felled tree was within 15 feet. All of the seven trees that are connected to John’s platform by rope have been marked, Galloway said. "We’re hoping they will come down voluntarily," he said. "But that doesn’t appear to be on their agenda right now." The safety of the protesters, agency employees and the loggers is a paramount concern, he said, noting that a representative of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was on hand Friday. In April, a tree sitter protesting a timber sale in the Mount Hood National Forest died after falling from a tree. Dave Hill, executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association, had asked for OSHA’s presence. "It occurred to me that these are forest workers," Hill said of the tree sitters. "Their forest work is no less important to them than the timber fallers out there. Both are very high hazards with a potential for injury." He figures the Mazama Forest Defenders ought to provide insurance protection for the tree sitters. "I want everybody out there in the woods to play by the same rules," he said. There was no word late Friday whether OSHA was investigating the tree sitters. The Dillard-based Scott Timber Co., a subsidiary of Roseburg Forest Products, purchased the nearly 4 million-board-foot sale, which is part of the Forest Service’s replacement volume program. Approved by Congress in 1995, the program exchanges coastal logging sales on federal forestland inhabited by the marbled murrelet, a threatened seabird, for sales of similar value and volume on national forests inland. But the Mazama Forest Defenders want the replacement volume canceled. The activists, who unsuccessfully sued to halt the sale, say logging the area is a threat to spotted owls and other inland creatures. The planned logging on the Rogue River forest is being done with a lighter touch than was planned on the original sale on the Siuslaw National Forest in northwestern Oregon, officials said. The area has been closed to the public. Meanwhile, tree sitter John said he was prepared for the long haul with a safety harness, a sleeping bag and a ground-based support group. "I have everything I need," he said. "I sleep very well." He said there are at least three tree sitters in the vicinity, although the Forest Service knew of only two on the 600-acre-plus sale. "We’ll be here as long as these guys are logging here," John said. "We’ve got plenty of supplies to last us." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [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 © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S