To the Editor, Prior to the November election, there promises to be an inordinate amount of money spent by timber interest in saturation attacks on Measure 64, the anti-clearcut initiative. The Voters “Pamphlet” is said to have grown to two volumes in order to accommodate some 49 arguments about Measure 64. This divisive ballot measure may be a direct result of the Oregon Board of Forestry's refusal to end its long-standing policy that makes timber production the primary use of our state forest lands. It is high time for radical management reforms based on habitat restoration instead of resource extraction. The past record of what has passed as forestry stewardship would in a more rational context be properly called an ecological catastrophe if not timber terrorism. I write to respond to a bulk mailing from an outfit calling itself the Healthy Forests Alliance in opposition to Measure 64. The timber barons are hiding behind this innocuous sounding organization and have trotted Ed Schroeder, a retired Oregon State Forester, as a pitchman. Mr. Schroeder opens his letter saying he has devoted his life to improving Oregon’s forest lands, and if the reader is able to wrap his mind around that, the rest of Ed’s letter will make better sense. The most prominent feature of the American Dream is a pig snout. In an exchange o f many little favors, insatiable timber interests and state foresters have steadily been making “forest improvements” since the inception of the Oregon Department of Forestry, like transforming native forests into tree farms, destruction of spawning grounds, or consolidating monopolies by swapping corporate stump ranches for standing public timber. Now at last they are mopping up what little is left of the original old growth east and west of the Cascades, regardless of ownership. The magic elixir that makes the deforestation/reforestation cycle workable and turns trees into gold is the regular application of fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. Big Timber and the Chemistry Set are lined up in opposition to Measure 64, because this initiative circumvents the new earth friendly reforms that have been cobbled together to disguise but not interrupt the crop rotation of pulpwood production. The overreaching dominance of corporate ownership remains a mysterious non-issue. Under those constitutional provisions intended to protect the individual rights of private citizens, corporate influence in our daily lives has expanded to now mean nearly absolute economic control. Public interest has been privatized. At worldwide levels corporations control our food and drink, information, communication, culture, education, health care and political choice. On land and sea, they control the rate o f exploitation of natural resources, the extent to which chemical pollution will be spread or curtailed, and decisions over what life shall flourish and which shall go extinct. Small stockholders needn’t fear they’ll lose their individual freedoms, everything is quite under control. The apostles o f deregulation preach the gospel of free enterprise and call any regulatory interference infringements to private property rights. Voters should look at who’s talking before embracing the interests of the ownership. Be sure to read your Voter’s Pamphlet. I Willapa Bay Before Dawn Ken Quarles OREGON BOOKS There is a bay where daw n’s announced by crow s, Where doves sound, patient and mournful in the trees, Where gulls flock safely from a com ing storm And terns patrol the sand daily for fleas Grey silent herons stalk the tideland w eeds. Electric blue kingfishers flash and dive For stickleback. I can close m y eyes right now, Feel on bare toes the ch illy, salty sand, Turn up m y collar in the steady wind And walk the w hole broad curve o f bayshore beach, And see the subtle com ing o f color to the sky. C hanging, as dawn approaches: purple and grey W arming to lavender, unlikely green, Peach-tinted clou d s turning yellow and gold. A nd then the brilliant reds that herald day. It is like G od inventing color, A ll tentative and fluid in the sky U ntil at last he settles for the blue T he silver sliver o f m oon that glow ed in predawn Fades now , in my m ind’s eye, with the com ing sun. A nd every color fades away in fog A s the hot, inland summer air arrives Sw ept w ith the great C olum bia to the sea - I shiver in these fogs o f memory. New Location 425 Coast Hwy SW Newport, Oregon 97365 541-574-6004 • 800-668-6105 Events • Authors • D eli Espresso • W ine Elizabeth B olton* Northwest by Northwest Gallery * Elizabeth Bolton was the nome de plume of Barbara Greiner-deLackner who passed into the fog of our memories September 15th, at 68, a victim of cancer. She earned a BA in creative writing from Pomona, and a Masters in theater arts from Portland State. She and her family ran Sherwood Forest Summer Camp on the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington from the late fifties until the early eighties. Michael, David and Susan, her children, and former husband Alan still own the land on Willapa Bay. This editor spent more than a year there in the early seventies, as a counselor and caretaker. ‘Barbie’, as she was called, later was to serve on the board of directors of the Oregon State Poetry Association and as President of the Oregon Writers Colony. The above poem was printed with the permission of her family. She was a fine human being and we cherish her memory. 2 3 9 N o r t h H e m lo c k P .O . B o x 1 0 2 1 C annon Beach 5 0 3 /4 3 6 -0 7 4 1 O re g o n 9 7 1 1 0 J O Y C E L IN C O L N . D i r e c t o r Pacific Northwest Contemporary Art & Craft Celebrating I Oth Year in Cannon Beach WhiteGird * OREGON SHORES' C O N S E R V A T IO N $ SAVE THE BEACH Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition Coast Conference All lovers of the Oregon Coast are invited to this year’s edition of the annual Coast Conference. The conference, sponsored by the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, takes place Oct. 17-18 in Newport. The conference is a chance to gather a wide range of information about the natural history of our coastal region, along with some background on issues affecting the coast. This year’s theme is “The Shore, the Beach, the Cliffs, the Forests and... the Invaders! ” Among the topics to be covered are invasive species of the coast, marine debris and the natural history of the driftline, the ecology of rocky intertidal areas, and efforts to protect endangered species. The conference kicks off Saturday, Oct. 17, at 9:30 a.m. in the Newport Performing Arts Center. No advance registration is necessary. Cost is $9 for members of the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, and $13 for non-members; the cost includes lunch. The conference’s second day, Sunday, Oct. 18, is devoted to the CoastWatch program, through which volunteers adopt a mile of the shoreline. Those who are not currently involved in CoastWatch are welcome to attend to learn more about the program. This day’s events take place at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, cal, (541) 765-2212, or (503) 238- 4450. Or contact OSCC by e-mail at orshores@teleport.com IN AN UNJUST WORLD... JUSTICE. C A N N O N BEACH. O R E G O N C O A L IT IO N Gary Durheim To the Editor, Over die years the Upper Left Edge has been a strong advocate of preserving portions of the undeveloped properties in and around Cannon Beach. The Wessingers and Minots trough their generous donations have preserved forever several of the most beautiful properties in Oregon. Our Mayor has been a vocal supporter of open space/green belts and has succeeded in getting $30,000 in the city budget for that purpose. And just this month, Phyliss Knutseon’s efforts to preserve Inspiration Point received overwhelming support at her presentation to the city council. It is time to consolidate and formalize our efforts by forming a local Land Trust dedicated to preserving the remaining unique undeveloped properties and timberlands surrounding our city. Other local land trusts report success far greater than their initial expectations. For instance, Vashon Island Land Trust recently purchased a piece of property for approximately $1,000,000 with King County funding 40% through a grant, fundraising and donations funding 40% and the seller funding the balance. The city of Ketchum, Idaho (Sun Valley) budgets $700,000 of their annual budget for parks and open space (Ketchum has a year round population 3 times that of ours and the budget is $1,000,000 less). Crested Butte, Colorado is preserving the big ranch properties by adding a voluntary 1% gratuity to restaurant bills along with city funds. The $30,000 the City of Cannon Beach has earmarked for open space is a great step in the right direction. Possibly, with a sharp pencil and strong expression of interest we could increase that allocation to something along the lines of Ketchum’s without any increase in taxes. And what better parcel to start with than Inspiration Point. ( RESTAURANT Casually Elegant (Dining « Located in the Cannon ‘Beach Motel 1116 5. Memlock (503)436-0908 ‘Reservations Suggested L ig h t Lunch 12:00 - 4:00 Momemade soups, chowders, bread a nd delightful desserts (Dinner S e w e d 4:00 -10:00 A w a rd winning chowders, unique salads pasta, seafood, steaks a n d chicken Recommended by: Northwest ‘Best ‘Places ‘M outh o f the Columbia National geographic ‘Traveller RICHARD BANT Pressure MfasMnff unt/ Construction H O M E a n d BUSINESS LICENSED & BONDED C L .B .N 7 9 4 2 0 Practice is the thing, clim ax. Voice Mall /5O3) 738-4516 Home 15031 436-1246 The performance is anti- Personal Injury Lawyer t.RI G O R\ K \F O , RV 202 Oregon Pioneer Building 320 S.W. Stark Street Portland. OR 97204 Phone: (503) 224-2647 LEFT COAST ßWW Monom row Name_ Address. Date. Phone. (we want your phone num ber in case we can’t read your writing) “Uncle Mike’s Guide to the Real Oregon Coast”: Autographed Limited edition $20 e a .____Copies “Letters to Uncle Mike”: Autographed Limited edition $ 1 5 _____ Copies “Wildlife on the Edge”: Autographed Limited edition $20_______ Copies (Checks or money orders only) $ Enclosed________ ‘If you start looking ahead you start falling behind. Jim “Catfish” Hunter urrà lift d m ocim w i 3