Page 13
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Forest boss notes USFS Biscuit facts
Conroy describes comments, news stories at odds with his position
AN ORIENTATION SESSION for approximately 94 fifth-grade students from Ever-
green Elementary School was conducted Thursday, May 10 at Lorna Byrne Middle
School. The prospective sixth-graders were toured in groups throughout the school
by members of the LBMS Student Council. The intent is to show incoming students
what to expect come September. (Photo by ‘Illinois Valley News’)
Six middle school students raising funds
to compete in National History Day event
Six Lorna Byrne Middle
School seventh-grade stu-
dents in Cave Junction have
earned a trip to Washington,
D.C. to participate in National
History Day competition.
Now all they need is the
money to help get them there.
From June 9 to 14, Sierra
Heikka, Zach Kay, Myana
Dhenin, Angelina Heath, Ja-
mie Sowell and Kristen Vi-
dales plan to compete with
students from around the
country. Lacey Fox, LBMS
English and geography
teacher, who advised the stu-
dents on their state award-
winning history projects, will
accompany them. Teacher
Julie Barnes and two chaper-
ones also will make the trip.
Fox said that this is the
second consecutive year that
LBMS students have quali-
fied for nationals.
The LBMS group quali-
fied for the event by placing
second in Oregon’s statewide
competition at Willamette
University in Salem. Sierra
and Zach produced a docu-
mentary on Oregon pioneer
John McLoughlin, and the
other students produced a
play about the infamous Sa-
lem (Mass.) witch trials.
Myana said that the pro-
ject involved extensive inter-
net research, as well as old-
fashioned book reading. After
the statewide competition, the
group worked to perfect its
presentation, she noted.
“The judges had a lot of
suggestions for what we
could change,” she said. “So
we’ve been adding things in
and reworking it.”
It’s anticipated that air-
fare, food and lodging for the
trip will cost approximately
$8,000. So far, the group has
raised nearly half, said Nicole
Doran, Myana’s mother.
A raffle will be held June
5 at LBMS as part of the
fund-raising efforts. Prizes
include a $40 Visa gift card
donated by SOFCU Commu-
nity Credit Union, tools do-
nated by True Value Hard-
ware, and a slew of gift cer-
tificates from Illinois Valley
merchants.
“Businesses have been
very generous,” Fox said.
On Saturday, May 19,
the students will bag grocer-
ies at Shop Smart Food
Warehouse as part of the
fund-raising push.
“It was nice of the store
to offer that,” Doran said.
All donations are tax-
deductible, and checks can be
left at LBMS or mailed to the
school. Checks are payable to
Lorna Byrne Middle School
History Day Fund.
Myana said that the com-
munity support will certainly
inspire her and her fellow
students to represent the
school well.
“I know how hard fund-
raising is, so I plan to do my
best at nationals,” she said.
-Scott Jorgensen
Tips for business vacation
For many business own-
ers, the thought of planning a
summer vacation can be com-
plicated at best and unthink-
able at worst.
Concerns about customer
or client care and anxiety
about missed business oppor-
tunities can make many
small-business owners feel
that they cannot take off.
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Despite these worries,
more than 67 percent of busi-
ness owners still expect to
take a break for at least one
week this summer, according
to an annual survey by OPEN
from American Express, the
firm’s small-business team.
“Small business owners
work very hard, and it’s im-
portant that they take time off
to recharge,” said Alice
Bredin, small-business ad-
viser for OPEN American
Express.
“Advance planning can
make it easier for them to
take a much-needed vacation
and quell concerns about their
companies running smoothly
in their absence.”
The following tips may
help business owners justify
some time off this summer
and save money as well:
*Plan ahead to save
money. Some credit and
charge cards allow card mem-
bers to earn points toward
everything from airfare to car
rentals to hotel stays and let
them redeem points at virtu-
ally any airline with no black-
out dates or restrictions.
By using a charge card
like the Business Gold Re-
wards Card from American
Express throughout the year
for business purchases, you
can accumulate points
quickly to help offset the cost
of your next vacation.
*Brief key clients or cus-
tomers. When possible, give
them a minimum of two- to
three-weeks notice. Identify
your stand-ins and communi-
cate your confidence in their
ability to help should a prob-
lem arise.
*Take a day trip or a
three-day weekend. Some-
times a long getaway is just
not in the cards. In that case, a
brief escape with a change of
scenery can do wonders and
allow you to return to work
rested and refreshed.
For more ideas, visit
www.OPEN.com.
(NU)
By SCOTT CONROY,
Supervisor, Rogue River-
Siskiyou National Forest
The last of the Biscuit
Fire salvage sales is nearing
completion, marking the end
of a significant and controver-
sial chapter in the history of
the Rogue River-Siskiyou
National Forest.
It also provides a time for
review, and a time to test the
claims of many about what
the Biscuit Recovery project
was or was not.
The Biscuit Fire Recov-
ery Project served as a light-
ning rod in the national de-
bate over post-fire logging. It
attracted protests, congres-
sional hearings, news stories,
publications, scientific de-
bate, and of course, many
lawsuits.
The conflict was serious,
heated, and waged with a
“no-holds-barred” intensity to
a degree I have rarely wit-
nessed in my 30 years in
natural resource management.
Unfortunately, there were
casualties, and from my per-
spective, one of the most sad-
dening of these casualties was
“truth.”
Claims were made about
the “Biscuit Fire Recovery
Project” that frequently left
my staff and I open-mouthed
in wonder that otherwise rea-
sonable people could make
them, and that others would
unquestionably embrace them
as true. Here are some exam-
ples of actual newspaper
headlines:
“Healthy Old Growth
Trees to Be logged in the Bis-
cuit Fire Area” accompanied
by a picture of an unburned
old-growth forest. Truth: no
unburned old-growth forests
were salvage-logged, and
only fire-killed trees, or trees
that constituted a legitimate
safety hazard, were author-
ized for cutting.
“The U.S. Forest Service
lost more than $9 million
logging trees burned by the
massive 2002 Biscuit fire in
southwestern Oregon”
Truth: we spent approxi-
mately $5.8 million to ana-
lyze, document, prepare, ad-
minister, and legally defend
these salvage sales. The sales
generated more than $12.3
million to the taxpayer, and
provided about $40 million of
value to the local communi-
ties.
One critic published a
prediction that our loss would
be almost $14 million without
ever bothering to ask to look
at our books. Where did that
come from?
In court, there was testi-
mony that the sales were lo-
cated in Wilderness (which
would have been illegal); that
we didn’t retain enough snags
for wildlife (have you seen
the millions of snags still pre-
sent throughout the Biscuit
fire area?); and that our goal
of salvage logging to assist
with reforestation was proven
unnecessary by research find-
ings.
That last claim was made
again and again. Opponents
frequently misrepresented our
intentions for salvage logging
as though we believed log-
ging was necessary for forest
recovery. My decision to sal-
vage log was to realize both
the potential jobs for local
communities and the eco-
nomic return to the federal
government.
law and for your greatest
good for the long term. To
do so, I need the productive
participation of citizens will-
ing to acknowledge and deal
in what is true, even if it does-
n’t support their beliefs or
desires.
There is hope and oppor-
tunity for good results when
honest people deal honestly
with each other. Un-
researched, unsupported, ex-
aggerations and intentional
misrepresentations designed
to inflame rather than to
enlighten serve no common
good.
One last truth you should
know. The time and resources
spent battling such claims
could have been more pro-
ductively spent restoring our
landscapes in hope of avoid-
ing another Biscuit Fire on
your lands.
I also knew these sales
would be implemented with
rigorous environmental pro-
tections and generate funds
for recovery efforts.
One claim heard often
was that these sales were ille-
gal. My staff received letters
and phone calls from people
around the country aghast
that we were engaging in
actions so obviously against
the law. The courts, how-
ever, disagreed and ruled in
favor of the Forest Service in
more than 17 rulings. Seven-
teen. The Forest Service has
prevailed in every court deci-
sion.
“Truth” is an unaccept-
able casualty in matters con-
cerning debate over the man-
agement of our National For-
ests. These lands are treas-
ures, and I am charged with
managing them according to
Traffic safety group lists opening
Josephine County Traffic
Safety Advisory Committee
has a vacancy for which ap-
plications will be accepted
until Friday, June 1.
Applications are avail-
able at co.josephine.or.us; or
at the office of the county
commissioners in the court-
house in Grants Pass.
Bicyclist succumbs to head injury
A Grants Pass bicyclist, who injured his head when he col-
lided with a car on Saturday, May 5 in the downtown area, has
died of his injuries. He was identified as Scott Fred Taylor, 49.
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