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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, November 13, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds 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 Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 7, 2004 Eco groups fret over Bush win By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Dominick DellaSala freely acknowledges that Tuesday’s election was perceived as a dark day by many fellow environmentalists. Yet the forest ecologist for the World Wildlife Fund’s Ashland office sees some rays of light poking through the forest of ballot results. "From exit polling data it appears that moral issues pushed Bush over the top in the election," he observed. "As we are a nation that places a high value on morals, it’s imperative that the environment become an integral part of the moral backbone of our nation. "Our very survival as well as our children’s children depend on it," he added. His reaction was one of the most optimistic of local environmental activists. Most cited Bush’s re-election and the substantial failure of state Measure 34 as anti-environment. The measure would have given equal value under the law to timber production and environmental protection in the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests. Advertisement But over in the timber industry camp, Dave Schott is one happy camper. For him, the election was the dawning of a sunny day. "From the timber industry standpoint, Tuesday was a real sigh of relief," observed the executive vice president of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association, a Medford-based trade association of about 90 companies involved directly or indirectly in the timber industry. Schott, owner of Forestglen Lumber Co., a Medford lumber brokerage, defends the Bush administration. He believes Bush has offered a balanced approach to forest management, and one that Measure 34 would not have provided. "We had eight years of Clinton forest policies that really decimated the industry," he said, citing severe cuts in the availability of timber from federal forest land during that period. A former public prosecutor, Schott is also relieved that John Kerry won’t be appointing federal judges. "It‘s important to our industry and all industries involved in production that the current president will probably appoint three Supreme Court justices, maybe even four," he said, noting that Kerry would have likely appointed more liberal justices who would have a different perspective on environmental laws. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is already far too liberal when it comes to environmental issues, he said, noting he believes the Bush administration will take steps to change the makeup of that court. "We’re very, very relieved that we will see more conservative justices appointed," he said. Unlike the environmental activists, Schott says the administration brings a balanced approach to public forest lands. "Nobody wants to come in and clearcut major tracts of forests anymore," he said. "If you have a healthy forest, with healthy flora and fauna and a good watershed, you have a healthy environment. But we need to manage it to get that. "It was the best of all scenarios for the industry, far and away," he reiterated of the election results. DellaSala would reluctantly agree with that assessment. "But I think it would be a big mistake for this administration to continue to roll back and gut laws that protect the environment," he said, observing that the public has continually shown it overwhelmingly supports environmental protection. During his debates with Sen. John Kerry, Bush said he was a steward of the earth, DellaSala observed. "He has a long ways to go to demonstrate to the American people that he is a steward of the earth," DellaSala said. But DellaSala also feels that the environmental community has a long way to go to adopt to challenges that have risen with the election. "We need to demonstrate we have new approaches, particularly in rural communities," he said. The goal, he said, should be to remove politics from the environmental debate. "I hope at some point our nation, our state and our communities will view the environment as a bipartisan issue," he said. Joseph Vaile, acting executive director of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center in Ashland, doesn’t see much chance of that happening soon. As evidence, he cited Bush’s declaration of a mandate. "It’s interesting that here on the West Coast where the blue states border the ocean Bush doesn’t have a mandate for changing the laws governing the Pacific Northwest forests," he said, referring to Washington, Oregon and California voters who backed Kerry. "If the president is really genuinely interested in working with all Americans, he’ll look to some of the local politicians and the Northwest delegation for advice on how to manage federal forests and wildlife species on the West Coast, instead of having an agenda driven by the timber, mining or grazing industries," he added. Don Smith, head of the Siskiyou Regional Education Project in the Illinois Valley, doesn’t have a lot of hope the election will end the controversy. "If the last four years is any indication, we can expect more of the same during the second term," he said. "Protecting our natural environment ought to be something we all want to see happen. The re-election of Bush seems to suggest that’s not as important as one would like to assume." 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 © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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