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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 26, 2005 Activists mourn Norman By PARIS ACHEN Mail Tribune The environmental community is mourning the death of Joan Miller Norman, a prominent figure in the protest against salvage logging in the forests burned by the 2002 Biscuit fire. Norman, of Cave Junction, died Saturday in a head-on collision on Highway 199 just north of the Oregon-California border. The 72-year-old grandmother is best known for her role in blocking loggers in March from harvesting trees at the Fiddler timber sale. Norman, who walked with a cane, sat in a metal lawn chair in the middle of the Green Bridge over the Illinois River to prevent a crew of timber fallers from going to work on the old-growth reserve about 25 miles southwest of Grants Pass. "She unwittingly became an icon (for the Biscuit movement) because she forced people by her image to confront the issues," said Laurel Sutherlin of the Ashland-based Oxygen Collective environmental group. "When you see an old fragile woman sitting and facing arrest it hits you in the gut." Advertisement She was featured in national media coverage of the controversy over salvage logging in national forests, including Z Magazine and The Associated Press. The 500,000 acres burned by the Biscuit fire have been at the center of the debate between conservationists and the Bush administration about what to do with national forest land burned by wildfires. Norman was arrested twice during a week of protests at Fiddler. The second time she spent 16 days in jail, declining to pay $150 in bail. Annette Rasch of the Sisters of the Siskiyous conservation group said she spent two days in jail with Norman. "Her role in life and in death is about giving us courage," Rasch said. "She wasn’t afraid of going to jail for standing up for what was right." During her lifetime, she was arrested more than 100 times for protests concerning issues that ranged from Civil Rights to the Vietnam War. She began fighting to save old-growth forest reserves when she moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1986, said her son, Timothy Norman. Timothy Norman said he and other family members have received thousands of phone and e-mail messages from environmental activists from across the nation who knew her. "They said they were inspired by her," Timothy Norman said. The accident occurred at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday when the car she was driving crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic and struck a sport utility vehicle. Two passengers in the SUV were injured and three others in the accident escaped unharmed. Norman is survived by four children: Susan Norman Jones of Takilma, Timothy Norman of Cave Junction, Terry Norman of Fairbanks, Alaska, and Annie Norman of San Jose; friend Bob Youdan of Sunnyvale; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A memorial is set for 3 p.m. Sunday at the Forks State Park, a half-mile south of Cave Junction off Highway 199. Reach reporter Paris Achen at 776-4496 or e-mail Activists mourn Norman ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Advertisement s