Governor Call-In Day & Rally to Stop the WOPR & Protect Our Forests


RALLY Friday, Nov. 14

12 noon – 3pm

Capitol Building steps

(900 Court St.)

Salem, Oregon

Join a diverse and united group of Oregonians from across the state – from rural folks to city dwellers – to encourage Governor Kulongoski to oppose the Western Oregon Plan Revision or WOPR (pronounced “whopper”), which would increase destructive logging in BLM-managed W. Oregon public forests by 436% at the expense of natural beauty, clean water, intact soils, fish and wildlife, and a livable climate.

SPEAKERS

Bill Barton, private forestland owner

Samantha Chirillo, organizer, WOPR & Beyond Coalition

Matthew Hall, ecological forester

Neila & Day Owen, BLM neighbors & organic farmers

Jimmy Schaper, organic farmer

Josh Schlossberg, ecosystem advocate

Peter Sorenson, Lane County Commissioner

Shannon Wilson, former BLM employee & mill worker

And open mic, too!

MUSIC

TBA


MCs-

The Radical Cheerleaders

BUSES TO SALEM LEAVING FROM:

Ashland: Free bus leaving at 6:00am from Shop-N-Cart Parking Lot, Tolman Creek Rd., returning by 8:30pm. RSVP to Carrie Zoll at carriezoll@hotmail.com

Roseburg: RSVP to Patrick Starnes by Tue., Nov. 11 at starnes2002@hotmail.com

Cottage Grove: RSVP to Cristina of Forest Web at forestweb.cg@gmail.com

Eugene: Free bus leaving Growers' Market (4th/Willamette) @ 10:00 am, returning by 4:30 pm. BUS IS FULL! RSVP to Josh Schlossberg at stopwopr@gmail.com in case buses from the South are able to pick up overflow passengers or arrange your own ride.

Portland: Free bus leaving Daily Grind (SE 42nd/Belmont) @ 10:00 am, returning by 4:30 pm. RSVP to Ant at ant@risingtidenorthamerica.org

Find the most up-to-date bus info and Governor contact info at www.epicocity.com/wopr.htm

Stop the WOPR! Rally hosted by Eugene Rising Tide, Cascadia’s Ecosystem Advocates, and Forest Web. Sponsored by WOPR & Beyond Coalition.

Rally contact:

Ayesha Mehren, ayeshinko@yahoo.com

Media contacts:

Samantha Chirillo @ 541-543-1253

Monica Vaughan @ 541-521-1832

Or press@risingtidenorthamerica.org


Call the Governor at 503-378-4582 and urge him to join us in rejecting the Western Oregon Plan Revision (WOPR), BLM's new plans to increase logging on our public forests.

The BLM is waiting for the Governor's review of the WOPR before signing the final decision.

We should be taking steps forward by stopping clearcutting and native (biodiverse) forest logging on public forest lands, instead of the WOPR, which strips away basic protections.

State and local elected officials should be taking action to bring about rural economies that are sustainable in the long-term. With an Obama administration coming very soon, it is more appropriate than ever for the Governor, as well as Oregon’s Congressional delegation (Wyden, DeFazio) to help stop the Bush Administration’s WOPR by stalling the BLM’s final decision or getting the decision suspended after it is made.

Forest Friends, are you ready to rally?

Next Friday, Nov 14, the UMPQUA bus will leave early in the morning heading north to Salem where we can let Oregon's governor know that Bush's WOPR plan is NOT in Oregon or America's best interest. YES we can do better!

First pick-up will be at 7am in Roseburg at the Douglas County Fair Parking lot near I-5. Possible pick-ups in Cottage Grove or Eugene, please REPLY to this email starnes2002@hotmail.com to make reservations.

The Charter bus cost around $500 and can carry 46 people.
So... If we have 40 riders it will cost $12.50 each.
If we have 30 "...................." $16.66 ea.
If we have 25 "..................." $20 each.
You get the idea...The more people we get going the cheaper for each of us. Tell all your friends and bring your friends. the more the merrier.

Forest Rally in Salem

Stop the WOPR!

Date: November 14, 2008

Time: 10:30 am

Location: Salem capitol building

Link: http://www.epicocity.com/wopr.htm (cool event poster!)

Adult Price: free

Organization: WOPR & Beyond coalition

Event Description:
Rally to Stop the WOPR! Join Oregonians from across the state to encourage Gov. Kulongoski to oppose the WOPR, which would increase public lands logging by 400% at the expense of clean water, pure air and a livable climate. Salem, Oregon @ 12 noonCapitol Building steps Friday, Nov. 14 Bus leaving from Growers' Market in Eugene (4th/Willamette) @ 10:30 am, return by 5pm

RSVP: 344-6017, stopwopr@gmail.com

Earthjustic sues BLM over WOPR

Bush Administration, Timber Industry Deal Challenged in Oregon
Conservationists ask judge to uphold law requiring public input on BLM logging plan
October 29, 2008

Portland, OR -- Conservationists filed a legal challenge in federal court today challenging a Bush administration effort to fast track approval for a massive increase in logging on federal land. The legal action comes after the Bureau of Land Management cut thousands of citizens out of the Western Oregon Plan Revisions public process.

"The Bush administration is once again cutting the public out of its decisions and letting private interests determine the fate of our public lands," said Kristen Boyles, an attorney with the environmental legal firm Earthjustice. "It is pretty clear that the Bush administration is dodging the public process because they have a severely flawed plan in their hands."

The Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR) rezones thousands of acres of Oregon forest managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management to make them available to timber companies. These forest lands have been governed under the Northwest Forest Plan since 1994. The WOPR calls for increasing overall logging on these lands by 400 percent while slashing protections for sensitive streams and waterways in half. Seventy-percent of the logging will be executed via clear-cut logging. The WOPR came about after the Bush administration and the timber industry settled a lawsuit aimed at removing these sensitive wild lands from the protections of the Northwest Forest Plan.

Almost 30,000 people commented on the draft plan, with the majority opposing the drastic increase in logging. These comments prompted the BLM to make substantive changes to the original version of the plan. Conservation groups argue that the public should be afforded the same opportunity to comment now that the plan is being considered for final approval so they are asking the court to order BLM to initiate a 30-day public comment period on the final version of the plan.

In addition to the critical public comments, the BLM also received scientific reviews that were highly critical of the logging plan, saying that the WOPR was based on insufficient study, incomplete modeling, and would likely not comply with laws safeguarding fish and wildlife habitat.

The WOPR represents the most far-reaching decision regarding forest management since the Northwest Forest Plan was drafted. WOPR would undermine the science-based guidelines found in the Northwest Forest Plan at a critical juncture. The proposal comes after prior unsuccessful attempts by the Bush administration to strip Northwest forests of critical protections were soundly rejected in a number of court rulings.

Comments from groups:

John Kober, Executive Director, Pacific River Council:
"The BLM apparently doesn't want to hear the truth about its final proposal: their plan to log extensively near rivers and streams will undermine community-based restoration efforts and cause harm to salmon, steelhead and all who depend on clean water."

Dan Kruse, Legal Director, Cascadia Wildlands Project:
"The BLM could have taken the time it needs to listen to the public input and carefully consider its options. Instead of careful consideration, we're seeing a desperate frenzy to push a plan forward while the Bush administration still holds office. This is politics, not science or logic."

Joseph Vaile, Campaign Director, Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center:
"More than 29,000 people took the time to comment on the draft proposal. It is not fair to citizens who engaged in good faith only to shortcut the public process and deny their right to protest. The Bush administration wants to rush this through at the last minute, but that does not make it legal."

Doug Heiken, Conservation and Restoration Coordinator, Oregon Wild:
"With our old-growth forests impacting so much of our lives, from providing clean drinking water to helping stave off global warming, it doesn't make any sense to cut the average citizen out of the process. We all deserve a chance to have our voices heard when it comes to management of our public forests."

Contact:

Kristen Boyles, Earthjustice, (206) 343-7340, ext. 33

Doug Heiken, Oregon Wild, (541) 344-0675

John Kober, Pacific Rivers Council, (206) 778-0883

Dan Kruse, Cascadia Wildlands Project, (541) 434-1463

Joseph Vaile, Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center, (541) 488-5789

Bob Freimark, The Wilderness Society, (206) 624-6430, ext. 228

Information provided by http://www.earthjustice.org/