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Groups differ on Cabinet chiefs By Paul Fattig Tom Dimitre and Jim Nolan agree that two of President Bush�s key Cabinet appointments likely will have dramatically different philosophies than their predecessors in the Clinton administration. But they part company when it comes to assessing the potential impact of Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. "Everybody is very disappointed that Norton got confirmed," said Dimitre, chair of the Rogue Group Sierra Club. "We�re hoping we don�t go back to the days of James Watt (Interior secretary under President Reagan.) "We�re hoping the Bush administration won�t try to undo the environmental gains made in recent years," he added. Undoing many of the public land management rules implemented by the Clinton administration is precisely what needs to be done, countered Nolan, a founding member of Oregonians for Responsible Conservation Alliance (ORCA), based in the Illinois Valley. "It�s good news that we have finally got some people who will approach the environment and extraction issues with balance," he said. He describes ORCA as a pro-multiple use group representing the interests of the timber industry, mining, motorized recreationalists and property owners. "Balance is really what we hope for � we�re not for 100 percent extraction," he added. "We just want our leaders to address both extraction and ecological issues with some balance." The Interior Department oversees nearly half a billion acres of public land, including that managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Norton also will be responsible for the management of mining on federal land, including that on national forest land. The Agriculture secretary ultimately has jurisdiction of national forests, as well as federal agricultural issues. Both Norton and Veneman are attorneys with experience on public land issues at the national level. Norton, an outspoken advocate of state and property rights, was a prot�g� of Watt. Many concerned about management of federal public lands are waiting to see who is appointed Agriculture undersecretary, because that person will be the immediate boss of the U.S. Forest Service chief. But others are willing to weigh-in on the new Interior secretary as well as the Bush administration in general. "We have a president who didn�t get a majority of the popular votes and probably not the electoral (college) vote majority," Dimitre said. "It�s disappointing he didn�t submit more moderate candidates." The result is neither compassionate nor moderate, he said. "We will try to work with them," he said. "But we�re going to be vigilant." Nolan says his group also plans to be vigilant. "We might have new heads running these agencies but there are still a lot of folks in them � the BLM and Forest Service � who lean more toward the ecological than to getting a balance," Nolan said. "Our concern is that they are still not looking for a true balance." ORCA intends to remain active, he said, noting it is launching an effort to undo a two-year moratorium on new mining claims in the proposed 1 million acre-plus Siskiyou Wild Rivers National Monument. The monument would include most of the Siskiyou National Forest and a portion of the southwestern edge of the BLM�s Medford District. "It will take some time to change things," Nolan said. Medford resident Gene Bowling, a board member of Rogue Valley Snowmobilers, which represents some 330 families in Southern Oregon, is optimistic that the changes Nolan and others seek will actually happen. "I think we have a chance now, a very good chance," he said of those who had pushed for increased multiple uses on federal public land. "I�ve got a lot more hope now for those of us who prefer motorized use and multiple use in general." Ken Cummings, a board member of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association and chief forester for the Boise Cascade Corp., is guardedly optimistic. "It�s got to be better than what we�ve just been through," Cummings said, referring to the Clinton appointments to the two posts. But, like Nolan, he figures it will take time to reach what he perceives as a balanced approach to public land management. What is needed is a resource approach � one that reduces the politics and court cases, he said. "I�m optimistic in that they (Norton and Veneman) have the right focus and background," he said. "They know the history of the West. They know the issues we have to deal with." Dominick Dellasala, director of the World Wildlife Fund�s Klamath-Siskiyou Regional Program, says his group intends to work with the new cabinet members. "The World Wildlife Fund is more interested in working with Secretary Norton to permanently protect the Siskiyou Wild Rivers than criticizing her past environmental record," he stressed. "We would like the secretary (Norton) to first uphold the mining �timeout� while allowing the Forest Service enough time to complete the process, document the impacts and propose special status protection for the Siskiyou�s globally significant rare plants and wild salmon resources," he added. A statewide poll by the Mellman Group in late summer showed 3-1 support for the monument and that U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and four of the state�s five U.S. representatives endorsed a moratorium on new mining claims in the area, DellaSala said. "Any attempts to short-circuit the process would go against public and congressional support to seek permanent protection for the region," he warned. Like Dimitre, Spencer Lennard, director of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center environmental group, believes Bush lacks a mandate for appointments like Norton. "It�s outlandish that the Bush administration is so strongly anti-environment," he said. "Instead of doing the right thing and making centrist cabinet appointments, he�s taking the ultra right-wing approach." A positive result from Lennard�s perspective would be renewed interest in the environment by the American public. "That�s what we need to have happen," he said. "The movement is mobilizing, but I think the public�s disillusionment with politics after the election is still there. "Hopefully, this will shake them out of it," he added. Ashland resident Jay Lininger, a member of the group, agreed. "Frankly, I find her (Norton�s) stance on land issues repugnant," he said, noting the Interior secretary had argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that the Endangered Species Act was unconstitutional. "But we�re going to continue to try to work with the government to get better land policy," he said. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.