Wednesday, February 24, 1982
Eugene, Oregon
Oregon daily
Volume 83
Number 109
emerald
‘Quiet9 weekend
brings new cuts
Higher education share jumps;
up 50 percent to $15.7 million
By Ann Portal
Of Iht Emtraid
The amount the Legislature proposes to cut from higher
education s general budget has quietly increased over the weekend
to a total of $15 7 million
A legislative subcommittee assigned higher education an
additional $5 million cut to absorb part of the new shortfall in the
state's revenue estimates The Ways and Means education sub
committee had already targeted the higher education budget for a
$10 3 million cut An additional $450,000 cut is possible if reduc
tions included in a package rejected by the Legislature are not
rescinded by the committee
Other action taken by the subcommittee tentatively cancelled
the need for colleges and universities to submit lists of program
cuts that would be necessary if the tuition surcharge is revoked next
year
These hit lists'' required by Chancellor Roy Lieuallen at a
meeting of institution presidents earlier this month have been the
focus of a great deal of concern at the University
The list of University programs to be considered for reduction or
elimination included the law school, the marine biology institute,
the community services and public affairs school and seven other
programs
University Pres Paul Olum confirmed Tuesday the University is
no longer required to give a list of programs for closure He said
further program planning probably will be delayed until the
Legislature finishes its work
Olum said he is not sure how the University would handle the
additional budget cut
However the subcommittee s revised budget notes resurrect the
possibility of a faculty and staff furlough as a short-term response to
part of *he deficit
Olum repeated his belief that it is not fair for the administration to
ask faculty to accept salary cuts, although it might appear the best
solution Faculty and staff should be involved in any discussion of
that type he said
The State System of Higher Education also recently learned of an
additional $2 million cut in its total budget, which includes statewide
services such as the extension service and the University Hospital
The portion of that proposed $2 million cut that would come
directly out of the education budget is $454,891
That cut apparently was adopted within the last two weeks by the
full Ways and Means Committee, without action by the education
subcommittee according to Bill Lemman. the state system's vice
chancellor for administration
The cut was contained in a package that the Legislature did not
adopt, but the $2 million has not yet been rescinded, he said
Budget plan falters
SALEM (AP) —The Legislature on Tuesday began to
unstitch a quilt of programs endorsed by the House to erase
the state's massive budget deficit and search for a budget
balancing patch that would please a majority of lawmakers
The House narrowly passed its patchwork package
Monday that would fall about $10 million short of balancing
the budget and leave no reserve fund Gov Vic Atiyeh has
estimated a $337 million deficit, which includes a $26 million
reserve fund
One of the elements of the House-approved plan, a
3-cent boost in cigarette tax to 19 cents a pack, was given
little hope of success Tuesday in the Senate Revenue
Committee
The Senate two weeks ago easily approved an income
tax hike of about 5 percent that hit higher income groups
heavier than wage earners with lower incomes But the House
rejected that proposal
The Legislature's fiscal panel, the Joint Ways and Means
Committee, has balked at making any more cuts than those
endorsed by late last week Its proposed state agency cuts
that total about $87 million, compared with $120 million
suggested by Atiyeh
The House and Senate have agreed on other revenue
raising measures, with the largest a speed-up in employer
withholding tax payments to yield about $68 million.
Photo by Bob Baker
Watching for eagles
A few of the 26 eagle-watchers who braved the early morning cold stand waiting to catch a
glimpse of their prey. They were rewarded by seeing more than 50 bald eagles searching for a
morning meal in the Klamath Lake Basin area. See page 8.
Forest service ‘backs away’
after law students file appeal
Sy Debbie Howlett
Ot II>• CnwnM
Four law students from the University's
Pacific Northwest Resource Center have forced
the Idaho forest service to withdraw three timber
sale contracts near the South Fork of the Salmon
River
The PNRC filed an appeal over a ruling that
allowed the sale, and the forest service withdrew
the contracts before the appeal made it to court
We re talking about the forest service — the
U S government — and they’re backing off three
sales,' says John Bonine, an associate professor
and advisor to the PNRC
"It's not like winning a law suit," Bonine says,
but it's the first time I remember the forest
service withdrawing."
The third-year law students forced the forest
service into reassessing and reconsidering the
implications of the contract, he says
Micheal Brennan, Jim Melamed, John Pen
field and Peter Schannauer filed the appeal in
December claiming the forest service had not
adequately assessed the effect logging would
have on the South Fork area
The Salmon River cuts through the middle of
Idaho and branches into several forks Salmon
swim the river to the South Fork and its tributaries,
where they spawn and raise their young The main
objection in the appeal was that the forest service
"ignored" dangers to the wildlife and the area,
some of which were documented by studies.
The major concern involving the river is that if
logging roads were built, the ensuing erosion
would bury food sources sustaining young sal
mon
The appeal also notes that an endangered
species of wolf, the Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf,
has frequently been seen in that area Until 1978,
no sightings of the wolf had been recorded
The Idaho Wildlife Federation came to the
University's Environmental Law Clinic (of which
the PNRC is a branch) to find the legal help it was
not able to afford in the private sector The
subsequent suit and investigation afforded the
law students an opportunity to "practice" law
While the forest service agreed to reassess its
studies and deny the timber sales contracts, the
appeal was never tried But according to Bonine,
that aspect doesn't diminish the accomplish
ments of the students involved in the case
"The law students who have been working on
the South Fork Salmon River over the past two
years have gained the forest service's respect by
beating them in administrative appeals and in
court," Bonine says
The Idaho forest service has requested that
the group of four act as advisors for the forest
service when the environmental impact studies
are re-defined
"They asked that (the law students) make
criticisms in an advisory capacity," Bonine says
A side issue that evolved from the timber
sales appeal is a case involving the Freedom of
Information Act, something the law students are
still battling.
The students requested federal documents
to monitor the managing job of the forest service
They also requested a fee waiver for the
documents, noting that the the Idaho Wildlife
Federation is a non-profit orginization benefitting
the public
The government charged the Idaho Wildlife
Federation 10 cents a copy for 2,000 pages and
$500 for what it called "search time "
"We call it guard time," Bonine says.
The students are now in the process of
appealing an Ogden, Utah regional office ruling
that requires the group to pay the costs