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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2018)
BY CAMILLA MORTENSEN FORESTRY PANEL ADDRESSES CONTROVERSY GreenLane brings together different perspectives on the timber industry CHANDRA LEGUE P H O T O BY T O D D C O O P E R G reenLane Sustainable Business Network will hold a forum on sustainable forestry April 12 to address last year’s controversy around seating a timber company representative on the environ- mental group’s board. The panel grew out of a contentious board election in November 2017, at which Casey Roscoe, senior vice presi- dent of public relations for the Seneca timber companies, joined GreenLane’s board. At the time, several board members threatened to leave, including Shawn Donille of Mountain Rose Herbs, who called Seneca’s joining of the GreenLane board “green- washing.” At the April forum, GreenLane seeks to facilitate a civil dialogue “to explore different sides of the issues, chal- lenges and problems faced by forest industry businesses, environmentalists and scientists.” Unlike GreenLane’s usual lunch meetings, “Clear Cut or Not? Understanding Sustainable Forestry” will be at the Eugene Downtown Public Library. It features four panel- ists representing science, industry, environment and for- estry perspectives and will be moderated by Tree Bressen. “This discussion is intended to help address the con- cerns some members had when a representative of Sen- eca was elected to the GreenLane Board of Directors,” the panel announcement says. GreenLane board chair Robin Forster says a goal of the • The Welcoming Committee for PeaceWorks Community Radio KEPW 97.3FM invites community members to attend a monthly pot- luck 6 pm every first Thursday of the month, including Thursday, April 5, upstairs in the Growers Market, 454 Willamette Street. Go to kepw.org or call 541-833-0622 for more info. • Friends of Trees, Daimler Trucks North America, University of Oregon and Oregon Department of Transportation partner for a com- panel is to “give everyone a voice.” She says in terms of membership, the group accepts members from all levels of sustainability. “We are not the police of greenness.” Forster points to Fred May of Brothers Cleaning Ser- vices, which she says was not a “green” business when it joined, but “because of coming and learning more, they have moved along the sustainability journey.” Chandra LeGue, Western field coordinator for environ- mental group Oregon Wild, will represent the environmen- tal perspective on the panel. She was on sabbatical during the brouhaha, but says the nonprofit allowed its GreenLane membership to expire. “There is a lot of misinformation out there from the timber industry,” LeGue says, adding that the timber indus- try has a big budget to promote itself. She points to Oregon Wild’s own “Clearcut Oregon” campaign, which has fea- tured a “Welcome to Oregon, home of the clear-cut” ad on the side of a Portland Tri-met train. The campaign says the “clearcutting industry” is the top emitter of carbon pollu- tion that causes global warming in Oregon. Fellow panelist Todd Payne is the CEO of Seneca and will represent industry. He tells Eugene Weekly, “This pan- el shows our willingness to come to the table, share our respective expertise, help educate and maybe find some common ground. We are encouraged by GreenLane’s mis- sion of sustainability and look forward to sharing our expe- rience and values during the panel discussion.” munity tree-planting event 9 am to 1 pm Saturday, April 7, along the Bob Straub Memorial Highway in Spring- field. Community members are invited to join. Breakfast refresh- ments will be available from 8:30 am to 9 am before the event. Visit friendsoftrees.org for more info. • FOOD for Lane County is host- ing a spring plant sale 10 am to 4 pm, Saturday, April 7, at GrassRoots Garden (1465 Coburg Road). A wide variety of Youth Farm organically Mountain Rose Herbs’ Donille is not convinced. “The extractive industries have made a mess of our landscape and have compromised the livability of rural Oregonians and organic operations throughout the state,” he says. Donille calls for looking to “truly sustainable operators in Lane County that have proven to be a genuine econom- ic power for Oregon and a champion for the good of our neighbors and community.” He adds, “Clearcutting, aerial spraying and monocrop forestry is the antithesis of a sustainable or green business model.” LeGue says industrial logging has contributed to cli- mate change, harmed endangered species and negatively affected drinking water. Seneca’s Roscoe says she is excited to be part of Green- Lane. She thinks, as a result, that others are joining GreenLane who would not have done so before, including a fifth-gener- ation grass-seed famer. “It’s absolutely about sustainability,” she says. “Everybody approaches that work differently.” The other panelists are Mark Miller, senior forester, Trout Mountain Forestry, representing forestry; and Lau- ren Grand, a forestry and natural resources extension agent with Oregon State University, representing the scientific perspective. ■ GreenLane’s “Clear Cut or Not? Understanding Sustainable Forestry” is 11:30 am to 1:30 pm Thursday, April 12, in the Bascom-Tykeson Room in the Downtown Eugene Public Library. Cost is free; bring your lunch. grown veggies as well as flower and herb starts will be for sale. • Gordon Wylie will be leading a tour of the Rhododendron Garden in Hendricks Park 1 pm Sunday, April 8. Wylie is an avid gardener and member of the American Rhododen- dron Society. Consider donating $3 to Friends of Hendricks Park for the tour. Contact Kit Kirkpatrick at 541- 688-0175 for more info. • The League of Women Voters of Lane County is partnering with local civic groups to provide infor- mation to voters about candidates in contested races in the May 15 Primary Election. This week, on Friday, April 6, the two groups will present Oregon House District 11, Democrat and Republican Candidate Forums at the City Club meeting at the Downtown Baker Center (975 High Street). It’s $5 for those not members of City Club. For more info on this event and future events, visit facebook.com/lwvLaneCounty. eugeneweekly.com • A pril 5, 2018 7
