What’s New at Lane
BY KERA ABRAHAM
School Sprays
Big Timber teaches chemistry.
L
ynn Bowers matches her maps. The
63-year-old artist/activist drapes her-
self in loose layers of greens and pur-
ples and pinks, a rainbow that flows with her
as she takes on the local Goliaths of industrial
forestry. Her maps of Lane County follow
suit, with multihued highlights marking the
private lands where tim-
ber companies have
sprayed herbicides to
keep down competitors
of their cash crop,
Douglas fir. Purple domi-
nates the 2006 map —
representing more than
5,000 acres of sprays by
Weyerhaeuser Company,
which owns more than 12
percent of Lane County.
Bowers would like to
see her maps a lot less
colorful.
Especially
around local schools.
As the founder of the
nonprofit
Forestland
Dwellers, Bowers has
mapped out all of Lane County’s timberland
herbicide applications for the past three years
using spray notifications filed with the
Oregon Department of Forestry. While updat-
ing her 2006 map, Bowers realized that some
sprays are planned near local schools, right at
the start of the school year.
Weyerhaeuser plans to spray a “test mix”
of herbicides by helicopter about a half mile
west of Marcola Elementary School and a
mile from Mohawk High School beginning
Sept. 25. The company also submitted paper-
work to spray by helicopter about a mile
south of Walterville Elementary beginning
Aug. 14. Seneca Jones Timber Company
plans to ground spray about a half mile north
of Twin Oaks Elementary beginning Sept. 15.
“Children are especially vulnerable to this
stuff,” Bowers says. “And they don’t get noti-
fications. Nobody would know a thing about
it if I wasn’t up there spreadin’ rumors.”
Bowers and another Forestland Dweller,
Robin Winfree-Andrews, sent a letter to Twin
Oaks Principal Larry Soberman about Seneca
Jones’ spray plans. It was news to him. “The
concerns seem legitimate,” Soberman told
EW, “but I’m going to have to get some more
information to ensure the safety of my stu-
dents.”
Seneca Jones did not return EW’s calls.
Another Forestland Dweller, 66-year-old
artist Ayala Talpai, paid a visit to Marcola
School District Superintendent Rolla Weber.
But he, like Soberman, was reluctant to sound
any alarms. “I have no idea what the spraying
is supposed to do or what the possible side ef-
fects would be,” he said. “If we knew it was
an issue we would certainly notify parents.
But without more info, I don’t have any rea-
son to say anything.”
Something different happened in
Walterville. After residents contacted
Weyerhaeuser protesting the planned aerial
spray near the elementary school, the com-
pany paused. “We’re working with the neigh-
bors to figure out a way to handle that [spray],
not because of a safety issue, but because of
the perception of safety,” Weyerhaeuser
spokesman Mike Moskovitz said. “We may
go in there and spray by hand, because that’s
what the neighbors want us to do.”
Members of Forestland Dwellers and its
local allies, Northwest Coalition for
Alternatives to Pesticides, Oregon Toxics
Alliance and The
Pitchfork Rebellion,
would like timber
companies to phase
out aerial spraying,
which they view as
imprecise and haz-
ardous. They reluc-
tantly prefer ground
spraying,
which
lessens the risk of
herbicide drift.
Ground spraying
is not as cost-effec-
tive as using helicop-
ters, Moskovitz said.
But he assured EW
that Weyerhaeuser’s
Lynn Bowers
pilots, most of them
military-trained, spray in compliance with
Oregon’s Forest Practices Act: noting wind
conditions, observing the product labels, and
keeping buffers around sensitive wildlife
habitat (“which includes people,” he said).
But no buffers will be maintained around
Marcola or Walterville elementaries. “The
buffers are not needed, in that the schools are
so far away that it’s not even an issue,”
Moskovitz said. “Even a half mile is more
than enough to be safe. More of a concern is
100 to 500 feet away.”
The Forestland Dwellers disagree, citing
OSU research that shows pesticide drift of up
to 1 mile even for ground applications.
The test mix of Garlon4 and 2,4-D to be
used near Marcola Elementary is a new, “en-
vironmentally friendly” product called
Milestone, which has a “vegetable base” and
can be applied in a diluted form, Moskovitz
said.
But neither herbicide screams “green.”
Garlon’s active ingredient, the broadleaf
plant killer triclopyr, has been linked in lab
tests to increased risks of breast cancer, ge-
netic damage and reproductive problems.
And 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid),
one of the two active ingredients in Agent
Orange, has been linked in epidemiological
studies with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and
childhood leukemia — though Moskovitz
says it’s less toxic than undiluted caffeine or
aspirin.
Bowers, busy organizing a growing group
of Forestland Dwellers, says the next step is
legislation to place a moratorium on spraying
near schools. Her blue eyes grew as round as
her wire-rimmed glasses when she learned
that even Weyerhaeuser may be amenable to
the idea.
“We’re always open to constructive dia-
logue and hearing from our neighbors,”
Moskovitz said.
ew
For more information, see this week’s spray schedule on
p. 11 or visit www.forestlanddwellers.org
New classes offered this fall by Lane Community
College Continuing Education Department
New Alternative Therapies Courses
Looking to jumpstart a new career or
enhance an existing one?
Professional Herbalist I
Module I focuses on Materia Medica (study of
specific herb properties), herbal energetics,
herbal preparations, plant chemistry, Chinese
and Ayurvedic herbalism, modern phytotherapy,
the digestive and cardiovascular systems and
integrative healing: aromatherapy and homeopa-
thy. CD and materials provided. Instructor: Karta
Purkh Singh Khalsa D.N. – C, R.H.
Awesome Homeopathy
Experience the benefits of homeopathic medi-
cines and develop confidence in your ability to
manage minor, acute illnesses and injuries at
home with homeopathic self-care. Discover why
millions of people world-wide choose homeopath-
ic treatment for taking care of their health. The
instructor is a licensed physician, board-certified
in homeopathic medicine. Instructor: Liz Dickey
The Causes of Illness - Part I
This four-part series (one lecture each term) will
explore often-overlooked issues related to
health and illness. Discussion will include pre-
ventive and therapeutic natural measures, as
well as home and mail-order tests. This first lec-
ture will cover digestive dysfunction, food aller-
gy, and immune challenges, and will include
tests for zinc and vitamin C status. See
www.lanecc.edu/ce. Offered by licensed
acupuncturist with 25 years clinical experience.
CEUs for LMTs. – Stuart Greenleaf, L.Ac.
DISTRICT
14
DEBATE:
Edwards & Farr
Debi Farr and Chris Edwards
Friday, Sept. 22 • 11:50AM
at the DOWNTOWN ATHLETIC CLUB
$3 admission • Free to City Club Members
485-7433
www.cityclubofeugene.org
Clincial Lomilomi: Lomilomi I
This class will explore the historical roots of
Lomilomi, be introduced to the Hawaiian healing
philosophy, and learn an effective 60-90 minute
full body treatment. Balanced biomechanics will
be emphasized so that the practitioner can deliv-
er deep effective therapy for relaxation or injury
prevention and relief with little stress on the ther-
apist's own body. NCBTMB approved category A
#287333-00 (28 CEs). Instructor: Marcia York
Register by:
Phone: Call the Continuing Education
Department at (541) 463-5252
Web: If you have previously attended Lane,
you may register for classes using
ExpressLane (www.lanecc.edu/explane).
In-Person: Downtown Center, 1059
Willamette St., Eugene, OR 97401
N ew A ge Bo ok s, Vi de os & C D ’ s,
V is i o na ry P r in ts , C ar d s & P ai n ti ng s,
M u s ic al I ns t ru m en ts , Ex o ti c W oo d
lifelong
Transforming Lives through ^ learning
& Me t al S ta t u es , C lo t h i ng , J e we l ry ,
Continuing
Education
SEE MORE CLASSES
AT:
www.lanecc.edu/ce
463-5252
C ry st al s & S t ai n e d G l a s s , Hi m al a y an S al t
C ry s ta l L a mp s, Qu a r tz C ry s ta l S i ng i ng
B o w l s , H i m a l a y a n G o j i B e r r i e s & J ui ce
E n te r T h e Dr e am t im e ,
E x pe r i en ce th e Ma g i c
An Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Institution
10 41 W i l l a me t te S t r ee t • 3 4 4 - 03 5 1
T OWN H ALL M EETING ON
A NIMAL W ELFARE I SSUES :
S HOULD WE BECOME A “ NO KILL COMMUNITY ”?
H O ST : L ANE C OUNTY C OMMISSIONER
Pete
Sorenson
Tuesday, Sept. 26
7:00-8:30pm
H ILYARD
C OMMUNITY
C ENTER
2580 Hilyard St. • Eugene
Information, call: 682-3721
SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 13