[www-features] POSTED: Back-to-Back Direct actions in Cascadia

[guido at stopimperialism.be]

> HEADER: <a href="http://www.cascadiarising.org/">PACIFIC NORTHWEST
> (CASCADIA) U.S.A.</a>: FOREST DEFENSE
>
> TITLE: Back to back direct actions for Cascadia's forests!
> IMAGE: http://portland.indymedia.org/icon/2004/08/295140.jpg
>
> ABSTRACT (the "Content" is below it!!):
>
> This week forest defenders across <a
> href="http://www.cascadiarising.org/">Cascadia</a>
>   united to expose the link between the politicans and corporations that
> profit
>   from the destruction of US public lands. On <a
> href="http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/08/294904.shtml">Tuesday</a>,
>   40 Cascadians occupied US <a href="http://wyden.senate.gov">Senator Ron
> Wyden's</a>
>   office. The <a
> href="http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/08/294957.shtml">following
>   day</a>, a protester dressed as a <a
> href="http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/Endangered/owl/owl.html">spotted
>   owl</a> locked to a 250 pound stump while others rallied, shutting down
> <a href="http://www.umpquabank.com/">Umpqua
>   Bank's</a> flagship branch for several hours.</p>
> <p>Both Umpqua Bank and Senator Wyden greenwash their images, depicting
> themselves
>   as environmentally friendly while supporting and profiting from the
> destruction
>   of Oregon's native forests. Senator Wyden presents himself as a green
> politican,
>   and yet of all US politicans he is the fifth highest recipient of <a
> href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?CID=N00007724&cycle=2004">campaign
>   contributions</a> from the timber industry. Meanwhile, he sponsors
> earth-destroying
>   legislation with eco-friendly names like the "<a
> href="http://www.wildcalifornia.org/publications/article-57">Healthy
>   Forest Restoration Act</a>."</p>
> <p>Similarly, Umpqua Bank <a
> href="http://www.umpquabank.com/p_services_personal_lifeevents.asp">markets
>   itself</a> as a new, hip, eco-conscious bank. In reality
> "StUmpqua"
>   Bank is <a href="http://www.umpquabank.com/p_faq_faq.asp#faq4">run
> by</a> the
>   dinosaurs of Oregon's ancient forest logging industry. With the past two
> days
>   of forest actions, local activists are gearing up for the upcoming <a
> href="http://ef.cascadiarising.org/">Earth
>   First! Direct Action Rendezvous</a> in Southwest Oregon the final
> weekend in
>   August, near the massive <a
> href="http://siskiyou.org/issues/fire.cfm">Biscuit</a>
>   logging project. The National Earth First! Rendezvous will be held in
> Oregon
>   in Summer 2005.</p>
> <p><strong>VIDEO: </strong><a
> href="http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/08/294920.shtml">Office
>   takeover</a>; <a
> href="http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/08/295009.shtml">Bank
>   lockdown</a><br>
>   <strong>PHOTOS: </strong><a
> href="http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/08/295141.shtml">Office
>   takeover</a>; <a
> href="http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/08/295035.shtml">Bank
>   lockdown</a></p>
> <p><strong>BACKGROUND AND NEWS</strong></b>: <a
> href="http://www.cascadiarising.org">Cascadia RiSiNG! Eco-Defense
> Infosite</a>
> | <a href="http://www.forestcouncil.org">Native Forest Council</a> | <a
> href="http://portland.indymedia.org/en/topic/forestactivism/">Portland
> Indymedia Forest Page</a> | <a
> href="http://www.forestdefenders.org">Cascadia Forest Defenders</a> |
> </p><p> </p>
>
> CONTENT:
>
> Oregon Forest Defenders Occupying Senator Wyden's Office<br>
>   Wyden Sells-Out Oregon's Public Forests to Timber Industry</p>
> <p>Tuesday, August 17th, 10:30 am: Over 40 forest defenders from across
> Oregon
>   are currently occupying Senator Wyden's office at 700 NE Multnomah St.
> With
>   drumming, banners, and songs, the forest defenders delivered piles of
> sawdust
>   to the Senator's office demanding Wyden stop selling Oregon's public
> lands to
>   the timber industry. The protestors presented a slide show of threatened
> areas
>   to educate the Senator and his aides about the on-the-ground destruction
> caused
>   by their pro-logging policies.</p>
> <p>"We need to shift management of Oregon's forests away from the
> commercial
>   timber sale program towards genuine non-commercial restoration. Yet,
> from the
>   Biscuit logging project to the so-called Healthy Forest Restoration Act,
> Senator
>   Wyden aggressively promotes increased commercial logging in our National
> Forests,"
>   said Kristen Michelson, one of the protestors.</p>
> <p>According to the Center for Responsive Politics (www.opensecrets.org),
> Senator
>   Wyden is the fifth highest recipient of logging industry political
> contributions
>   of all members of Congress. Senator Wyden receives more timber industry
> contributions
>   than over 98% of all Republican congressional members, and all but one
> Democratic
>   congressional member. Wyden is the third highest recipient of timber
> industry
>   donations in the Senate.</p>
> <p>"Wyden profits from timber industry contributions while the timber
> industry
>   profits from Wyden's attacks on Oregon's public forests," said
> Michelson.
>   "Even Senator Wyden's highly touted Lewis and Clark Mt. Hood
> Wilderness
>   Act includes provisions that increase commercial logging on Mt. Hood
> National
>   Forest."</p>
> <p>Wyden's Lewis and Clark Mt. Hood Wilderness Act mandates a quota for
> logging
>   on the westside of Mt. Hood National Forest while opening up the east
> side of
>   Mt. Hood for logging in the name of forest health and fire prevention.
> Mirroring
>   the Bush Administration's so-called Healthy Forest Restoration Act, the
> bill
>   allows logging in Mt. Hood's eastside back country, which has been
> proven to
>   increase the risk of catastrophic fire.</p>
> <p>Senator Wyden has firmly stated his support for logging in Late
> Successional
>   Reserves in the Biscuit Fire Area. He pushed to have the Biscuit Salvage
> Logging
>   Project divided into three sections to speed up the logging of the
> Matrix areas.
>   In 2003, Wyden's initial "healthy forests" bill, co-sponsored
> with
>   Senator Feinstein (D-CA), included a salvage logging "pilot
> project"
>   carved out of forests affected by the Biscuit fire. It was the only
> "healthy
>   forests" bill bandied about that year that included anything about
> post-fire
>   logging.</p>
> <p>Senator Wyden was the most influential senator in the passage of the
> Bush administration's
>   controversial Healthy Forest Restoration Act. In 2002, Senator Wyden
> proposed
>   legislation that would have reduced environmental protections and
> increased
>   logging across National Forests in eastern Oregon and Idaho.</p>
> <p>Protestors presented Senator Wyden with the following list of
> demands:</p>
> <p>1. We demand that Senator Wyden work to end the commercial timber sale
> program
>   on all US public lands, as suggested by the National Forest Protection
> and Restoration
>   Act (see www.forestadvocate.org).<br>
>   2. We demand that Senator Wyden work to stop all commercial logging in
> the Biscuit
>   Fire area, including in Matrix lands.<br>
>   3. We demand that Senator Wyden work to immediately halt all commercial
> timber
>   sales in Oregon specifically including: Solo (Mt. Hood National Forest),
> Straw
>   Devil (Willamette National Forest), Kelsey Whiskey (Medford BLM), East
> Fork
>   Coquille (Coos Bay BLM) and Metolius (Deschutes National Forest).<br>
>   4. We demand that Senator Wyden stop using wilderness proposals as a
> cover to
>   increase commercial logging on our public lands. Specifically, we demand
> that
>   Senator Wyden work against any legislation or rider that allows
> commercial logging
>   in the Biscuit Fire Area in return for increased wilderness areas. We
> demand
>   that Senator Wyden remove Section 8, which promotes commercial logging,
> from
>   the Lewis and Clark Mt. Hood Wilderness Act of 2004.</p>
> <p>---------------------------</p>
> <p>Protestor Locked to 250 pound Stump outside Umpqua Bank's Flagship
> Store:<br>
>   Forest Defenders Continue to Expose Oregon's Forest Destroyers</p>
> <p>Following yesterday's surprise occupation of Senator Wyden's office by
> over
>   40 Oregon forest defenders, protestors turned their sights on Umpqua
> Bank. One
>   protestor is currently locked to a 250 pound stump outside of Umpqua
> Bank's
>   flagship store in Portland's Pearl District (1139 NW Lovejoy Street),
> while
>   20 Oregonians use banners, songs, and flyers to protest the bank's ties
> to the
>   destruction of Oregon's public lands.</p>
> <p>"Both Umpqua Bank and Senator Wyden greenwash their images while
> supporting
>   commercial logging in Oregon's National Forests," said protestor
> Kristen
>   Michelson. "We're exposing Senator Wyden and Umpqua Bank as two of
> the
>   biggest threats to Oregon's public lands."</p>
> <p>Umpqua Bank is tightly connected to the destruction of Oregon's ancient
> forests.
>   Over the last four years activists have increasingly targeted Umpqua
> Bank for
>   protests as a means to force Oregon old growth logging companies
> Roseburg Forest
>   Products and Herbert Lumber to respect the public's desires to protect
> ancient
>   forests.</p>
> <p>"Umpqua Bank markets itself as the hip new alternative bank, while
> in
>   reality Umpqua is closely linked to the dinosaurs of Oregon's old growth
> logging
>   industry," said Michelson. "Oregon's forest destroyers profit
> from
>   our business at Umpqua Bank, while our drinking water, forests, and
> wildlife
>   pay the price."</p>
> <p>The president of Umpqua Bank's board of directors is Allyn Ford, sole
> owner
>   of Roseburg Forest Products. Roseburg Forest Products owns the contracts
> to
>   some of the most controversial mature and old growth timber sales on
> public
>   lands in Oregon, such as East Devil and Pryor in the Willamette National
> Forest.</p>
> <p>The Herbert family was among the founders of Umpqua Bank in 1953. Lynn
> Herbert,
>   the general manager/owner of Herbert Lumber is currently on the Board of
> Directors
>   of Umpqua Bank. Lynn and Milton Herbert (owners of Herbert Lumber) are
> Umpqua
>   Holding Co.'s largest shareholders, owning 1.5 million shares or 20% of
> the
>   company's stock.</p>
> <p>A local example of Herbert Lumber's destructive logging practices is
> the soon-to-be-cut
>   Bear II Timber Sale, an old growth stand of prime spotted owl habitat,
> located
>   in the Mt. Hood National Forest near Breitenbush Hotsprings. The Mt.
> Hood National
>   Forest provides drinking water to over 40% of all Oregonians.</p>
> <p>Protestors demand that either Herbert Lumber and Roseburg Forest
> Products immediately
>   stop commercially logging on Oregon's public lands, or that Umpqua Bank
> remove
>   both Allyn Ford and Lynn Herbert from its board of directors. Protestors
> encouraged
>   consumers to boycott Umpqua Bank until those demands are met.</p>
> <p>In July 2002, over 100 Earth First!ers took over Umpqua Holding Co. in
> downtown
>   Portland for over two hours demanding cancellation of controversial
> timber sales
>   held by Umpqua President of the Board Allyn Ford's Roseburg Forest
> Products.
>   This action followed the 2002 National Earth First! gathering held in
> the Gifford
>   Pinchot National Forest. With the past two days of forest actions, local
> activists
>   are gearing up for the 2005 National Earth First! Gathering to be held
> in Mt.
>   Hood National Forest.
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