WOPR Rally in Salem

Liisa, 16.11.2008 12:18

On Friday,November 14th in Salem over 350 people from around the state stood on the Capitol steps to “speak for the trees” and tell Governor Kulongowski to reject the WOPR (Western Oregon Plan Revision). About 15 people from Ashland and Roseburg were in attendance at the rally. Buses from Cottage Grove, Eugene, and Portland were also at the event. The Rally was sponsored by the WOPR & Beyond Coalition, a coalition of more than 2 dozen organizations representing rural and urban citizens across Oregon.

The three hour rally included farmers, state representatives, and forest advocates. The Raging Grannies sang a few songs. Two members from Eugene Radical Cheerleaders moderated the event.

Pete Sorenson, a Lane County Commissioner, started off the rally by presenting a letter signed by some of our state and federal representatives, including Peter DeFazio, in opposition to the WOPR. He hand delivered the letter to the Governors office after the rally.

At 1pm Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky, who had been occupying a tree on the Capitol Lawn since Tuesday, came down from the tree. Jasmine said after reaching the ground we need to stop the WOPR now “..or we will be fighting acre by acre this summer”. Cascadia Rising Tide organized this event to provide education about the WOPR leading up the Rally.
To view a short video of the tree-sit go to  http://www.youtube.com/cascadiarisingtide

Throughout the afternoon the speakers voiced their concerns about the rivers, forests, and the health of their communities. Neil Owen, a BLM neighbor and member of the Pitchfork Rebellion, said “spraying after a clearcut gets into the water and the kids (in the community) become ill”. The audience was reminded repeatedly that if the WOPR is stopped that the “battle does not stop here”. There is another forest plan on the horizon that is in the works.

If you have not had an opportunity please call the Governors office (503-378-4582) and say “Save the Climate, Save the Trees, Stop the WOPR..Please!”

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Portland IMC coverage 16.11.2008 - 12:28 Here is a report from Portland IMC  http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2008/11/382425.shtml Liisa> Homepage:: http:// Similarities between Iraq War and the WOPR 16.11.2008 - 12:34 Josh Schlossberg,ecosystem advocate(speech at the rally): The Top 10 Similarities Between the Iraq War and the WOPR: # 1) Both are brutal and backward scrambles for a disappearing resource -The Iraq war is a war to gain control of some of the last reserves of oil, now that we’ve passed Peak Oil. -The BLM’s WOPR is a war for the logging industry to gain control of some of the last 5% of old growth native forest in the U.S. # 2) Both were initiated based on false information -The Iraq war was launched under inaccurate (and likely fraudulent) reports of Weapons of Mass Destruction -The WOPR is based on a misinterpretation of 1937’s O&C act, wrongly emphasizing timber production over all other life-giving forest benefits. # 3) Both exploit terrible events that evidence suggests could’ve been avoided and that were possibly fabricated -The Iraq war was made possible by the events of September 11, 2001 -For the WOPR, the BLM took a dive on a logging industry lawsuit – choosing to settle out of court – and promised to liquidate much of the remaining sliver of native forests in western Oregon. # 4) Each has its own propaganda mill running full tilt -The Iraq war has Fox News, Limbaugh, O’Reilley, Coulter and similar corporate spokeszombies. -The WOPR has logging industry front groups like the Association of O&C counties and Oregon Forest Resources Institute, along with Morrison, Penegor, Assink and similar Big Timber thugs. # 5) Both are being passed off under the guise of helping American citizens -The Iraq war is supposed to protect the American people from “the terrorists.” -The WOPR would provide some short-term chump change while sacrificing the long-term priceless benefits of pure air, clean water and a livable climate. # 6) Each happens hidden far from the public eye -The Iraq war is happening thousands of miles away, overseas. -The WOPR would log forests miles beyond the “beauty strip” of standing trees lining our highways. # 7) Neither seek to address the underlying causes of the conflicts -The Iraq war will not solve the U.S.’s excessive consumption of and dependence upon dwindling oil reserves. -The WOPR will not solve the excessive consumption, inappropriate use and waste of forests. # 8) Each is equally the fault of "good cop" Democrats and "bad cop" Republicans -Democrats did not oppose the launching of the Iraq war, nor do they vote to immediately cut the funding -Democrats praise the WOPR with faint damns, while refusing to act to defund the process # 9) Each doom future generations -The Iraq war is a part of a “war that will not end in our lifetimes,” which will kill even more civilians and soldiers, breed even more terrorists and squander even more tax dollars. -The WOPR will kill native forests, while ignoring the true costs of sacrificing the life-giving forest benefits of pure water, clean air and a livable climate # 10) Both are opportunities for concerned citizens to band together to defeat and then to put proactive measures into place that will prevent similar things from ever happening again -For the Iraq war, we must learn to simplify our lifestyles and wean ourselves off our wasteful dependence on oil. The U.S. must also learn to cooperate with, instead of compete with, the rest of the world. -For the WOPR, we must learn to simplify our lifestyles and wean ourselves off our wasteful dependence on wood and wood fiber. We must also learn to cooperate with, instead of compete with, the planet that gives us life Liisa> Homepage:: http:// Perspective 16.11.2008 - 13:09 While I'm not at all a fan of clearcutting and old growth removal, I do find it "interesting" that some people rail against the cutting of a single old growth tree while allowing 10's of thousands of them to burn (and die) in catastrophic fires. Not to mention the toxic greenhouse gasses and even soils vaporized in firestorms. My Uncle died from smoke inhalation from the San Diego fires of a few years ago. Will your own relatives be next? Please use science to manage our forests back to the splendor they once had. Mtn_high> Homepage:: http:// While we're at it... 17.11.2008 - 11:30 Just what IS the Obama Plan to restore our shabby forests to their "natural" resiliency and function. I think I only heard of him talk about forests just one time. Since he comes from a state with very little in the way of forests, will he ignore the disaster that is our National Forests? He'll probably go with the status quo and continue the senseless incinerations of the united Bushies and eco's. We DON'T have to burn down the forests to save them. If he does, we'll have to call it "Obama's Katrina". Mtn_high> Homepage:: http:// Saving Old Growth 18.11.2008 - 11:04 Dear Mtn_high, I am sorry to hear of your loss, what a tragic event for you and your family. While the WOPR does contain some language addressing fire suppression, most folks opposing it, have other ideas how best to proceed. Since there is so little old forest left in the North West, I'd like to see as much preserved (without cutting or burning) as can be possible. If trees are 'America's Renewable Resource' then there is no need to take the big old ones (other than the easy profit they bring), let the loggers take the ones they planted on the clear cuts from last century and leave the few remaining old growth areas alone. Just Sayin'> Homepage:: http:// Change?!? 18.11.2008 - 18:50 Yes, I was VERY close to my Uncle. He would always take me out in the woods for outdoor fun. We obviously NEED a change in how our forests are "managed". All I want is to bring the extremists on both sides closer to the middle. Of course, clearcutting old growth is bad but, will WOPR clearcut vast stretches of old growth? Of course, letting fires burn is bad, as well but, I just don't see Obama changing that illegal and unscientific policy, either. Again, I challenge the new Administration to follow the suggestions of Dr. Jerry Franklin, and use our entire toolbox of treatments to manage our forests back into a healthy, fully-stocked, functioning ecosystems, instead of what we see in the Biscuit (and other more recent catastrophic Let-Burn fires) we have now. Let's go, Obama!! Show us what you're made of. Let's see that change for the better instead of the status quo! Mtn_high> Homepage:: http://