r
Smokey Bear needs
to rewrite his slogan
Finally recognizing a need that has been blatantly
obvious for years, the U.S. Forest Service is now attempt
ing to alter its fire-fighting and logging practices to help
prevent major wildfires from occurring.
At a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Assistant Agri
culture Secretary James Lyons said that the Forest Ser
vice would be shifting more emphasis to "salvage log
ging," the removal of dead timber, in order to reduce the
amount of fuel available for a forest fire.
The Forest Service is also planning to thin out some
dense stands of forest, which are more susceptible to
fires, and even light some small fires deliberately in an
effort to further reduce the amount of combustible mate
rial lying on forest floors.
The now policies are a dramatic departure from the
"extinguish all fires" mentality that has characterized
the Forest Service’s fire prevention strategy for decades.
'I hat attitude has left forests full of dead trees and oth
er combustible material, which has led to forest fires
much larger, hotter and uncontrollable than would oth
erwise naturally occur.
Every summer, states throughout the West are ravaged
by blazes that wipe out half a forest. This summer, 14
firefighters (many of who were from Oregon) were killed
while fighting a fire in Colorado.
The costs of continuing the old policy are high. The
solutions being adopted by the Forest Service carry a
high price tag as well, (the Congressional Research Ser
vice estimates the cost at $250 an acre for about 14 mil
lion acres in the West) but at least they would be ground
ed in good science.
That good science requires a more moderate set of
policies than have existed in the past.
The new policy should not. and realistically could
not, remove all dead materials from the forest. Fallen
trees and other dead material have been shown to be a
valuable part of the forest ecosystem, providing food and
shelter to some forms of life that otherwise could not
survive.
And the policy should not, and assuredly would not,
let all Fires burn uncontrolled, either. Some fires must be
fought, to save lives and property. Although a forest fire
allowed to burn or intentionally set may appear to be
destroying property, it will benefit both forests and for
est industries in the long run. by helping to eliminate
more massive fires.
Besides, some studies have shown that a tree can sur
vive a forest fire, if there isn’t too much dead fuel around
for the fire to consume. If the forest has been regularly
cleared of combustible waste by periodic burning, as
occurs in nature thanks to lightning storms, fires may
burn out or move on before destroying the ontire forest.
Perhaps Smokey Boar should change his slogan. “Only
you can prevent forest fires. Only we can start them on
purpose."
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Cl«Min#d Adv«rtt»mg _346-4M3
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ON
AWVM-.
■ OPINION
News I didn’t want to hear
DamdThorn
itrly Monday murmtvg, mi
18-year-old high school
J—Jsenior was shot in the
head while ho was sleoping at
his homo in west Eugene
Police said that the student.
Aaron Iturra, was a "document
ed gang affiliate" with a criminal
record It is not yet known who
is responsible for the killing, if
the rnurderer(s) are members of
a gang, it would be the first fatal
incident of gang violent e in the
city's history
This was news I didn't want to
hoar Not in my hometown.
You see. I grew up in Eugene.
I graduated from Willamette High
School, the same school Iturra
was attending when he was
killed.
When I was a junior, I wrote an
editorial for 7'/ie Wolverine,
Willamette's newspaper In it, I
warned the city not to (relieve it
was "too small or too white" to
have a problem with gang vio
lence.
That was in 1991. when the
first obvious signs of gang activ
ity started showing up as modem
hieroglyphics, spray-painted on
freeway overpasses and railroad
boxcars.
But even as I was admonishing
the city to keep its guard up
against the arrival of gangs, I nev
er really believed it would hap
pen. There was always something
inside me that kept humming
some Pollyanna mantra:
“Cmon," it said “This is
Eugene.”
That mantra was silenced
Monday afternoon, as I heard of
Hurra's murder.
To the credit of the police, they
have been warning us about
gangs for years. It was a police
presentation that prompted me
to write that editorial, which I
now realize. I didn't really
believe in.
But few people seemed to be
listening Over time, schools
drafted gang policies and started
working closely with the police,
but the community at large
seemed to pay little attention.
Thu.year after I left Willamette,
a student was busted for having
a gun in his locker Although that
incident had nothing to do with
a gang, it should have been a hint
that the potential for serious
youth violence was growing.
And when a student was shut
and wounded at Sweet Homo
High School earlier this fall, and
another was injured in a stabbing
at Thurston High School a week
later, I should have been pre
pared for someone to get killed.
Hut I wasn't.
When 1 went to Willamette,
things were different When
someone had a problem with
someone else, that person would
just pick a light in the locker hay.
A teacher usually intervened
before anyone's nose got blood
ied — not always, but usually.
It wasn't exactly civil, but it did
gut the point across,
While that kind of confronta
tion may still take place, there is
now a whole new level. And it's
a disturbing portent of things to
come Or rather, things that am
already here.
Monday's killing was u savage
act of violence. And while it
might not lie gang-related at all.
I have a sick feeling that it was.
Portland has 400 drivo-by
shootings a year, and that city's
first gang fatality came only five
veins ago Will we I* in that same
position five years from today?
It goes without saying that I
hope it doesn't come to that. I just
wish I knew what can lie done to
prevent it.
The police have some ideas
about that, of course And I'm
sure there are high stihool admin
istrators and teachers who have
suggestions, as well.
The Eugene School District has
implemented a dress code that
prohibits gang clothing. Sugges
tions to that effect have been
made at Willamette and other
area high schools. I'm sure
But 1 don't think a dress (.ode
will make any different* at all.
Eor one thing. I don't know
what constitutes gang apparel,
and I don't think there's a hard
and fast definition. Do we outlaw
tho color blue? Red? Get real
Besides, a gang's worst behavior
is likely to l>e outside of school,
anyway.
What about installing metal
detectors or hiring more security
guards? That may curb violence
at the schools themselves, but it
will do nothing to stop crimes
that happen off school grounds.
A metal detector wouldn't have
kept Iturra's killer from creeping
into the converted garage he used
as a bedroom.
Some people have described
the killing as a “wake-up call." It
certainly was for me. But there's
an ironic twist to that — a twist
with tragic implications.
If Iturra's murder just creates
an atmosphere of fear, it could
result in even more violence.
When someone is killed, the nat
ural reaction is to prepare to
defend yourself. Too often that
means arming yourself, or ally
ing yourself with someone who
is armed. That’s practically the
definition of a gang.
That must not be allowed to
happen here. We need to find a
middle ground between denial
and counter-productive fear.
T hem needs to be a community
wide commitment to preventing
gangs and youth violent*.
There must l>e adequate fund
ing for the police department to
effectively investigate — and
when appropriate, punish —
youth crime.
And because boredom is a tx>n
tributing factor to gang formation,
there must be enough money for
schools to keep the curriculum
interesting and the extra-curric
ular activities up and running.
Places like Looking Glass and
the Youth Connection Teen Cen
ter must continue to provide ser
vices for young people, and get
the money necessary to do so.
People must be on the lookout
for crime, and not ignore it
because it isn’t happening to
them Because someday, it just
might.
All this and more will lie need
ed if we are to keep youth vio
lence from escalating here, as it
has in so many other places.
Not in my hometown. Cmon.
This is Eugene.
David Thorn is managing editor
for the Emerald.