_ _ Oregon Daily_ _
Emerald
Monil.n November 27. 1'IH‘I
Kiigene. ()rt-gon
\Oluini' ‘i I. S'unihci (> I
_Inside_
■ McMorran gets facelift. Page 4
■ Market moves inside, Page 6
■ Christmas film a dud. Page 9
■ Razors burn Pucks, Page 11
Can Oreeon stand on its wooden lee?
Just how dependent is Oregon on our timber industry .’ Wluit
are the hidden tradeoffs and possible alternatives that
ai l otnpanv a harvest of S billion board feetthe
environmentalist viewpoint:
Hv ( hristopher Blair
l meruld News fditor
bditor's \otr I hr lollnwing is (hr lirst ol .1 two
part Mnnil.i 1 InDt pth scries examining Oregon's de
pendent «• on thi> limbrr industrv I his si'i lion tin tisrs
on tin- cm irnnmcntalists' v icw point. .lint will tic Inl
Imvcil liv o|iiiiioiis Irom representatives ot the timber
111 <111 str\ on luesdav
It has been an argument situ c the beginning ot the
Industrial Revolution when to use natural resources
lor then use in products or energy production and
when to preserve those resources in the interests of
ei ologv and nature
bogging and the production ot wood products
ha\e been some of. it not the most important mdus
lues to ( lo gon in teiins of the number jobs they pro
v ule and the monel they 1 ontnbute to the stale s er on
iimy
In leient veals. Iinwet ei some an reevaluating
Oregon's dependence on timber, an mduslrv that
leaves hillsides barren and allegedly threatens the e\
istenre ot endangered plant and animal spei les they
have been met with trail it tonal arguments Irom timber
proponents .11 rout how important the industry is I 11
tire towns would suite!. lliev su\ d any bans were
placed on tutting trees that could otherwise be hai
vested and put to ei onoillic use
Regardless of one s opinion ol the timber issue
some slatistit s are hard to ignore
Oregon is the leading supplier ot wood products
in the nation prov idmg one fifth ol the 1 ountrv s soil
wood According to the August H)H9 issue ol Oregon
l.,il)or /rends a monthly report put out by the stale
employment division. 79.400 ot Oregon s workers
earn then living from jobs in logging sawmills and
paper prod 111 tion
bills hgure represents about 7 pen ent of the work
eis in (hegon and I t pen ent ol all manufacturing jobs
in the state ( hie worker in live is employed in manu
facturing
fhe state s office ut ecuiioiun analysis reports
lumber, wood and paper products contribute about
S I I billion, 01 7 pen ent. to Oregon s gross st.ite prod
111 I Kedut turns in the amount of trees proi essed most
likelv would alter I all ot these figures
Too Much?
As vv illi anv issue however there is another stai k
ot tar Is and figures that is equally important
Mure than It billion board feet of timber was bar
vested tiom Oregon s hillsides in 19H7. about a billion
less than the record 9 li billion board feet harvested ill
I'I72
Ahuul lfi billion board
feel ol Iimbei unv i nl Irum
1 lands m Oregon .mil
Uashington in I HOB A tol.il
ol "i billion bo.inl leel ol
wood chips .mil raw logs
wort' exported oversells from
pm.ile st.ile (iini some led
er.il limits
Knvironmentalists s.n
Ibis is too null h espei ially
\\ ben the trees being i nl
dory n are i entnries old ' an
i ienl lorests" or old grow III.
trees tli.it ba\e prey iousK
been unllitll bed b\ tile log
ger's saw
\bii b ol the debate ear
tier Ibis year i entered on
prolei ling the endangered
llorthwesl spoiled owl I ini
her industry exei uli\ es and
workers, and even some
lawmakers. mocked the
spotted owl as something
thill tasted like tried chit k
I'll A levy owls have even
been found dead Industry
proponents voiced their ills
may that a bird yy.es being
seen as more important Ilian
workers and then families
Km ironmentelists have
countered by say mg more
Ilian 'Mi percent ol Oregon's
original forests bay e been
i ul down and the 2 '< In I
lion board leet of harvested
logs s.n rilli ed by prolei ling
the owls is one third ol wtt.il
Is exported ey ei y y ear
The point environmen
lalists are trying to make is
lb.it the tilnbel ( olltp.lilies
are doing irreparable dam
age to the lorests espei iaily
those stands ol old groyyth
that are home to many plant at
it baits to i lilting are made soo
to repair ecological damage
been done
..... ■
I'hulil bt \mlir Kjlurti
Unvimnmrntalist ilaim th.it ilrar i ills sui h as this mvntlx rvplunted onr arc
hazards hi thr ri ns\ stem
ill .inim.il spiH it's I- \cn
i some s.i\ it is lou l.itc
ili.it .iIiimiU mill li.ivf
i mum; »«h k
\\ i ■ i x I • -11 Wood is tin- ucstiTii rcpri'siMilHtivc tor thr * >i
i-gnii \dtui.il Ki'soun i's ( on Ik il. .1 group ot ‘ill i uiimti.i
lion, outdoor «-clut .ilion .Hid sportsirun uru.im/.ilions
lorn to Timbor, Page* 14
1
Student groups enter into timber/environmental fray
By Polly Campbell
Emerald Reporter
The future of the ancient forests has
been a hot issue in the Pacific North
west for several years. Now the issue
has caught national attention anti Uni
versity students art? educating the pub
lic anti organizing local groups to gain
the support needed to preserve the old
growth timber.
“We know that we cannot win this
issue and save the forests if we keep it
on a regional level so we need to na
tionalize.” said Matthew Snider, co
director of Survival Center, the Uni
versity’s home-base for the nationwide
S’udent Environmental Action Coali
tion.
"Through Student Environmental
Action Coalition we have been able to
network throughout the country and
bring the issue ot the national forests
to the forefront," Snider said.
Although the Survival Center is in
volved with a variety of environmental
issues, specific groups have been es
tablished to foeus on the forest issues.
The Kuinfores! Action Croup is part
of a nationwide effort to preserve the
rain forests of the world. Snider said.
“This group is a network of grass
root organizing groups that exist liter
ally everywhere in 'he country." he
said.
The Opal (’.reek Defense Coalition is
a group of local citizens and Universi
ty students who are working together
to save the Opal Creek area of the Wil
lamette National Forest. Snider said.
Opal Creek, located about 35 miles
east of Salem is in danger of being
clearcut.
Members of the Survival Center also
conduct nines into pans 01 me anciem
forests to educate people about the is
sue and to show them what is going on
in the forest. Snider said.
“There is always a lot of talking
about forests and the clearcuts, but the
reality is to actually go out into the for
ests and see what the forests are all
about." said Trevor Dick, ancient for
est coordinator for Survival Center.
People find themselves passing from
group to group because the forest is
sues tend to overlap, said Heidi
Schultz, oceanography coordinator at
the Survival Center.
The organization process is handled
w ithin the groups and from there deci
sions are made regarding what to do
next and how to bring awareness of
the issue to the people, Schultz said.
“The only way to approach people
is on the educational level." Schultz
Nit 111. Ollt 111 mt; JJfisi uuuuujr una uih
ly documented what is really happen
ing in the environment so now il is im
portant to go out and make contacts
with people to get the latest informa
tion."
By conducting grass roots cam
paigns people can learn about the is
sues and have an effect, Dick said.
"We're here to put power back in
the hands of the people,” Dick said.
"There is power in numbers and that
is the idea of grass roots."
Because the lands in dispute are na
tional forests and a national treasure,
the issue relates to everyone. Dick
said.
"1 think that when people in Maine
write to their congressmen and say
they don't want their national forests
in Oregon destroyed people might lis
ten," Snider said