NEWS BRIEFS
going after Oregon’s wolf population that
would have undermined the state wolf
plan. Legislators did pass a bill that would
compensate ranchers for livestock lost to
wolves and created a $100,000 fund for
counties to deal with attacks on livestock
by wolves.
Also in the $100,000 range was the
money that legislators approved to keep
California sea lions away from Oregon
salmon during fishing season. Salmon
might fare better this year when it comes to
predators — bald eagles apparently pre-
vented 7,000 Caspian terns from nesting
and reproducing this year, according to Bird
Research Northwest. Terns (rather than
dams) have been blamed for declines in
salmon populations.
Finally, also on the greener side,
Oregon’s landmark bottle bill was updated,
adding new beverage containers and
opening the possibility of higher
deposits. Mandatory inspections of boats
for invasive species were approved and,
with the exception of the spiny dogfish, it
will be illegal to sell or possess shark fins
(and thus make shark fin soup) after Jan. 1,
2012. — Camilla Mortensen
bogus for failing to consider urban sprawl.
The Leadership in Energy and Environ-
mental Design (LEED) program of the U.S.
Green Building Council gives ratings up to
Platinum level for “green building.”
The city of Eugene increasingly uses the
LEED ratings to gauge the environmental
impact of new government buildings and in
granting tax breaks under its MUPTE
exemptions for new multiple-unit housing.
But the Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRCD) faults the ratings for
giving top “green” awards to car dependent
locations where the energy used in driving
eclipses the energy saved by the energy
efficient construction.
NRDC Director of Sustainable Com-
munities & Smart Growth Kaid Benfield
cites research demonstrating that “a home
in an urban location will save more energy
than one located in an outlying area, even
if the suburban house has advanced green
building features and the occupants drive
hybrid cars.”
Benfield writes on his blog, “even an
ordinary building in a highly accessible, urban
location is better for the environment than
most anything that goes up in a greenfield.”
Benfield cites a top LEED award two
years ago to Arbor South Architecture’s
SAGE home in Eugene as a bad example.
He faults the home for its car dependence,
located on a dead-end street in North
Eugene far from a bus stop and stores.
Benfield has been working with the
LEED program for years to reform its
ratings to give more weight to less car
dependent and more walkable, bikeable
and busable locations. But he said the
LEED group is only “inching in that
direction” with a pilot program.
Last month the widely respected
Victoria Transport Policy Institute weighed
in with a report adding to the pressure for
LEED reform. The report detailed how
new LEED transportation standards could
work and called for building locations in
bikeable, walkable neighborhoods with
nearby stores and frequent transit services
and for separately charging for worker and
resident parking. — Alan Pittman
IS LEED
BOGUS?
A green building rating system widely
used in Eugene for government buildings
and in awarding tax breaks is under fire as
LANE COUNTY
SPRAY SCHEDULE
• Western Lane County: Seneca
Jones Timber Co. plans to do aerial
applications of Glyphosate, Imazapyr,
Metsulfuron Methyl and MSO on 144
acres in five locations in T19S 08W
Sec 20 and T20S 06W Sec22 near
Gillespie Corners. See notice 2011-
781-00500.
Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers:
342-8332, www.forestlanddwellers.org
The Draft 2012-2015 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program
(STIP) is now available for public review.
ODOT Offices
S kinny Dip Year Round
Willamettans Family Nudist Resort
• Full Service RV & Tent Sites
• Laundry facilities
• Year round pool-hot tub-sauna • Tennis-Volleyball-shuffl eboard courts
• Cabin Rentals
• Day visitors welcome
• Wi-fi
• Pet-friendly & dog park, too!
Join us setting the
noon Saturday, July 9
OPEN HOUSE: Saturday, July 23
Call for FREE fi rst time visitor pass
541-933-2809
Visit willamettans.com for event schedule
Coburg Fire Station
Ke$ha
"Skinny Dip" Resort Record
Public review opportunities are:
Ever since singing sensation Ke$ha put feathers in her hair, a trend has
emerged across and country and here in Eugene that has left fishing shop shelves
empty and fly fisherfolks pissed off. Fashion-crazed women (and some guys) are
running off with all of the feathers. But instead of being attached to a lure, these
feathers are being woven into hair or are dangling from earrings.
The real issue is where all of these feathers, called “hackle,” are coming from.
You can’t have a feather without a bird — or in this case, a rooster.
These roosters are bred to create the perfect long, thin, flexible feathers with
a black-speckled pattern called “grizzly” that fly-tying fishers — and now
trendsetters — lust after. And it’s not as easy as just plucking one of these
beautiful feathers and letting the rooster go back on its merry way. After living a
year of a life that may not even go beyond a cage, these roosters are skinned for
their pelts — particularly the “saddle hackle” that adorns their backsides.
And much to the roosters’ dismay, this feathery trend doesn’t seem to be going
anywhere. Gwynne McLaughlin, owner of Studio Mantra Hair Salon, where hot pink
grizzly feathers are the most popular, says more than 100 women — and a few men
with longer hair — have requested these feather extensions since last spring.
These feathers “are a unique way to add flair to your hair without a big com-
mitment,” she adds.
So, what about the roosters’ commitment?
“Animals are killed for our food all the time,” McLaughlin says. “That bothers some
people and not others.”
Lin Silvan, founder and executive director of Eugene’s Veg Education Network
(EVEN), which works to promote education about the vegan lifestyle, said, “Animals
are not here for us to eat or wear or use. If one must spend time preening, braid
your hair with beads or ribbons and let the birds keep their feathers.”
Studio Mantra, along with many other salons, uses feathers from Whiting
Farms in Colorado, one of the largest producers of hackle for the fly fishing
industry, and coincidentally for the feathery realm of the fashion industry.
According to company reports, Whiting Farms harvests more than 1,500 roosters
per week — most roosters don’t survive the process.
Silvan points out that this cruel practice is self-serving, inflicting pain on an
animal purely for vanity’s sake.
“The important thing to remember is that we can choose” whether or not to
use these feathers, Silvan says. “It takes the same amount of energy to choose
compassion as it does to choose cruelty.” — Kendall Fields
Marcola, Oregon • “ Where all you have to wear is a smile”
FEATHERS: HAIR COOL OR
HAIR CRUEL?
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
EUGENE WEEKLY JULY 7, 2011 11