Goats on the Grass! No just fans
If you are involved booking bands you know it takes someone with a music background and/or connections to do so. Otherwise you make excuses as to why you can only book bands like "Dork and the Dinks" come on admit it is not the unpaid fan sitting on the grass causing the problem it could very well be the unqualified, unconnected person in charge of drawing the bands to Bend in the first place. Bring in a descent band and we will be happy to pay the ticket price, but not for "Dork and the Dinks".
—Melinda Inglehart
time for Activism to Evolve
I've just returned from three days of slogging through the Pole Creek burn, collecting gobs of data for a burn severity analysis study, and I get to sit down after dinner for a little dessert: James Williams and Phil Busse's article about what they call "eco-sabotage" and it's apparent poise to return.
What a treat.
First, let's pay homage the godfather of Monkey Wrenching, Edward Abbey...who was the first to detail, in psuedo-fiction, the motivations and methods of those early saboteurs. I'd bet my beloved chainsaw that the understanding and love of the natural environment of any of today's "environmentalists" would pale in comparison to his. His writings are unmatched, and were seminal in my decision to make managing natural resources my life's work.
However, the environmental issues that inspired Abbey's Wrenchers have evolved, and so must we. On public lands, timber volume most often takes a back seat to recreation and wildlife concerns. Instead of harvesting old-growth, many Forest Plans (including that of our local Deschutes) aim to increase their acreage in large trees while creating sustainable yields of timber AND promote habitat for wildlife at all seral stages. These are fantastic changes, and they are all public record...YOU yourself can read it and comment as you see fit. That's the wonder of Democracy.
We have those brave activists (and scientists) of the 80's and 90's to thank for these changes to National Forest policy, but while your article by Williams and Busse presents a great account of activism's history, it also seems to promote a return to violent vandalism. That is unacceptable.
In true Williams form, who's online article "Convenience over Accountability" was possibly the most offensive "journalism" I read in response to the Granite Mountain Hotshot fatalities, this article also relies solely on the extreme views of Karen Coulter, who has time and time again single-handedly cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in failed litigation against forest restoration projects. Projects which have gone on to reduce fuel loads, increase wildlife habitat, and prevent those types of stand-clearing events we saw on the Pole Creek fire.
Timber harvest is a tool. An arrow in the quiver, and while some people will never be swayed to accept the cutting of any tree, the vast majority of us who love and cherish our forests and wildlands have come to the side of active management. If Coulter wants to hope for anything, let her hope that trend of cooperation and constructive discussion continues.
—Edge Effect
In reply to "Cats, Taxoplasmosis and More Cats" (Natural World, 8/15)
Bob Barker's spirit is right here in Central Oregon everyday at Bend Spay and Neuter Project! Secondly, I would like to thank Jim for his support of programs that work to humanely control the population of feral cats and that subsidize free spay and neuter for low income cat owners. I would also like to take this opportunity to announce a new partnership in local animal welfare. The Central Oregon Cat Alliance is a collaborative effort by BSNP, HSCO, Bend Vet and Brightside Animal Center, which will address the problem of feral cats in our community through targeted trap, neuter return (TNR). The TNR process humanely controls the cat population through trapping, providing sterilization and rabies vaccinations and re-releasing cats where they were trapped. The population stabilizes and begins to decline through natural attrition.
The Central Oregon Cat Alliance would like to invite anyone interested to a Town Hall Meeting on 11/9 at the Humane Society of Central Oregon. We will provide more details on our feral cat program, other successful programs throughout the country and share our goals for the program. The bottom line is that we all want fewer outdoor cats, TNR has been proven to work as a humane way to achieve this goal. You can find more information about feral cats and making your backyard safer for wildlife at www.alleycat.org and information about our program at www.coca2020.org.
Megan Wellinghoff
Executive Director, Bend Spay and Neuter Project
In reply to "Bend Noise Ordinance Hypocrisy" (Letter to the Editor, 8/1)
Dear Editor,
I read with grief the recent letter from the lady on Scott St. next to the Third St. underpass (a stone's throw from the Sparrow!) where nighttime construction noise and lights have been preventing the three or so households from sleeping for weeks. I am wondering why our taxpayer benefits have to come at their terrible expense, only because their numbers are so few.
I imagined myself in their situation and cringed.
Could not those of us gaining the most benefit, perhaps those in successful ecommerce, or local hotels/motels/ B&Bs, pitch in together to grant them vouchers (including tip) and solve this local inequity? And what positive exposure for these businesses!
This is also a public health issue, considering what may very well happen with a driver that is extremely sleep deprived sharing this very roadway.
What keeps coming to mind is Ursula K Le Guin's six page short story: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.
Thank you,
Francis
Letter of the Week!
Thanks for the letter, Edge Effect. While we like Edward Abbey as much as the next tree hugger, we especially like that he uses his real name. Stop by to pick up your Crow's Feet commons coupon for the letter of the week. (P.S., For other recommended reading, try "No Pain, No Gain" (June 27) about The Forest Service's smart thinning project; It's classic Williams.)
