#77 September/October 2005
The Washington Free Press Washington's Independent Journal of News, Ideas & Culture
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TOP STORIES

Dentist Gone Native: The prophetic nutritional research of Dr. Weston Price, DDS
by Dr. Stephen Byrnes

TOWARD A TOXIC-FREE FUTURE from Washington Toxics Coalition
Diazinon ban sends homeowners looking for other insecticides;Washington Lakes Get a Break from Pesticides
articles by Philip Dickey and Erika Schreder

What About the Rank and File? Labor leaders are still ignoring Labor's biggest asset: volunteer members
opinion by Brian King, part 1

MEDIA

MEDIA BEAT by Norman Solomon
Bush's Option to Escalate the War in Iraq: Mainstream media and Democratic leaders are complicit

The Value of a Non-Commercial Newspaper: Do you see it, too?
from the editor

Contributing writer David Bacon again wins national 'Censored' honors; Articles in the Washington Free Press which have won Project Censored 'top 25' rankings
by Doug Collins

FREE THOUGHTS

READER MAIL
Seeking WWI history; Democratic Pary Co-opted; American Christianity: the Jihad Within

WORKPLACE
Breast Perspective: A breastfeeding mom bares feelings about bare breasts
by Tera Schreiber

IMMIGRATION

Virtual Americans: Guilty parents, innocent children
by Domenico Maceri

Undocumented migrants face bigger obstacles, but still come: Arizona Borderlands Report
by Marie & Phil Heft

HEALTH

EPA Unions Call for Nationwide Moratorium on Fluoridation
from US Environmental Protection Agency's National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), Chapter 280

Is Your Water Fluoridated?
by Doug Collins

CULTURE

The Canoe Race
anonymous progressive joke

Stock Market Seppuku; Carrizo Plain; White Male Adult, 2001
Three Poems by Robert Pavlik

Unfortunately/Fortunately
humor by Styx Mundstock

The Wanderings and Thoughts of Kip Kellogg, #2
by Vincent Spada

POLITICS

Who's Behind the State Initiatives?
by John Merriam

Reforming Supreme Court Appointments: It's helpful to look at appointment processes in other countries
by Steven Hill

ENVIRONMENT

TRASH TALK by Dave and Lillian Brummet
Water Conservation in the Kitchen; Lawn Mowing
also
"Trash Talk" Authors Win BC Recycling Award

CONTEST
Send us a conservation tip and enter to win a copy of the book "Trash Talk"

NW FORESTS

Trees win in court, but still lose ground
Judge Upholds Protections for Old-Growth Forests;Logging Plan Halted in Old-Growth Reserve
from Cascadia Rising! and Conservation Northwest

State of Cascadia: Dire Straits in Paradise
by Alicia Balassa Clark

How I Spent My Bank of America Officially Sponsored Summer Vacation
by John Doe, Jr., and Glenn Reed

CONTACTS/ACTIVISM

NORTHWEST NEIGHBORS
contact list of subscribers who like to talk with you

DO SOMETHING! CALENDAR
Northwest activist events

WAR & PEACE

Phony terror charges threaten free speech in international anti-war movement
by Guerry Hoddersen, Freedom Socialist Party

Are Americans Immune from Empathy?
opinion by Don Torrence

MISCELLANEOUS

BOB'S RANDOM LEGAL WISDOM by Bob Anderton
Rental Car Insurance: Rip-Off or Necessity?

BOOK NOTICES
"Sprawl Kills: How Blandburbs Steal Your Time, Health and Money" by Joel S. Hirschhorn; "Rational Simplicity" by Tim Covell
from the publishers

New Orleans and the Rubber Ducky Dilemma
by Doug Collins

Judge Upholds Protections for Old-Growth Forests

from Cascadia Rising!

The Bush administration's decision to eliminate safeguards that protected old-growth forests has been declared illegal by a federal judge in Seattle. The judge preserved the "Survey and Manage" rules under the Northwest Forest Plan, which require federal agencies to survey an old-growth area for rare plants and wildlife before allowing logging or other destructive activities, and if found, modify their plans to reduce the risk of extinction.

"This is a huge victory for people who value wildlife and the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest" said Doug Heiken on Oregon Natural Resources Council. "It's time for the Bush administration to recognize that Oregonians value our natural heritage and want to see it protected."

"This ruling helps preserve an important system of checks and balances that protects our old-growth forests for wildlife, clean water, and future generations," said Joseph Vaile of Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center.

Judge Marsha Pechman of Seattle ruled that "even though the Survey and Manage standard was only a part of the overall strategy to protect these species, it was a necessary part to satisfy the [Northwest Forest] Plan's 'foundational objectives.'"

Dominick DellaSala, a PhD forest ecologist with the World Wildlife Fund, explains how the rule protects a delicate web of life. "There are hundreds of species that are essential to the health of old-growth forests by cycling nutrients and cleaning our air and water." DellaSala explains, "The Survey and Manage program, developed by some of the best scientific thinkers in the region, is a global model of conservation because it recognizes this important fact."

The United States Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management estimate that without the Survey and Manage rules, more than 50 species are at high risk of local extinction. Without the rules, old-growths forests across Oregon, from the slopes of Mount Hood, to the headwaters of the McKenzie River, to the Wild and Scenic Rogue River were all at greater risk from logging.

The Bush administration attempted to eliminate these and other safeguards as part of a settlement agreement with the logging industry over a lawsuit which logging interests filed in 2001.

For more information contact Doug Heiken, Oregon Natural Resources Council (541) 344-0675; Dr. Dominick DellaSala, World Wildlife Fund (541) 482-4878; Joseph Vaile, Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center (541) 488-5789.

Logging Plan Halted in Old-Growth Reserve

from Conservation Northwest

The Spokane federal district court in late July halted logging plans in an old-growth reserve and other areas on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Leavenworth, Washington.

Conservation groups had requested the injunction after federal reviews showed that the Fischer Fire Economic Recovery Project would increase fire risk, pollute drinking water supplies, and irreparably damage old-growth reserves. The temporary delay prevents the timber sale from being cut while the court evaluates the Fischer Project and considers additional action.

The Fischer Project would give the large older trees to the timber industry and leave behind a wasteland of logging slash and brush that fuel wildfires, "placing old-growth forests and local communities in harms way," said Regan Smith of Conservation Northwest.

The Fischer Fire Economic Recovery Project has authorized three timber sales that cut large old trees across 2,500 acres of national forest burned by the Fischer Fire in August 2004. The court's temporary stay applies to only one, the Rollin Rock sale.

"It's a shame. The Forest Service could have pursued a balanced approach that reduced fire risk, got logs to local mills, protected public resources, and garnered broad community support," said Dave Werntz, Science and Conservation Director at Conservation Northwest. "Instead, they chose a reckless path that threatens property, wildlife, and water quality.

For more information contact Regan Smith 206-349-1032 or Dave Werntz 360-319-9949, both of Conservation Northwest.


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