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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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071089
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07108900.039
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1990-09-17
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NATION, Page 24Still at LoggerheadsOregon's lumberjacks vs. tree huggers
The meeting in Salem, Ore., was dubbed "the Spotted Owl
Summit." The title referred to the threatened bird that federal
courts recently protected when they prohibited logging in parts of
the Northwest and also to the fact that most of the big guns of
Oregon politics were taking part. Attending the summit were
Governor Neil Goldschmidt and all seven members of the state's
congressional delegation.
Senator Mark Hatfield arranged the Salem session to work out
a compromise between two bitter enemies -- Oregon's powerful timber
industry and militant conservationists. The industry needs to
harvest trees to preserve some 68,000 jobs, while the
environmentalists are fighting to protect ancient forests and
creatures for which the old growth is an indispensable habitat. The
meeting at times seemed overwhelmed by the whoop-de-do of 3,000
loggers sporting baseball caps with yellow ribbons and T shirts
with provocative slogans (SAVE A LOGGER -- EAT AN OWL). But when
it was over, the two sides appeared ready to attempt a two-year
compromise that would both preserve the spotted owl's home and
permit continued logging in reduced but still vast areas of federal
lands.
The deal, though, never quite materialized. While the timber
industry announced its "reluctant acceptance" of the compromise,
Andy Kerr, conservation director for the Oregon Natural Resources
Council, complained that environmentalists did not have enough time
to analyze the plan. Moreover, the group, which has been able to
halt logging by obtaining court injunctions, was unwilling to drop
all litigation for two years, as stipulated. In addition, the
conservationists contended that the proposal, which allows loggers
to harvest 8 billion board feet in the disputed lands through 1990,
some 2 billion less than under normal conditions, surrendered too
much.
The environmentalists' stand could push the timber industry
back into its hard-line position. Before the compromise was
conceived, the lumbermen had made it plain that they would reject
any reduction in permissible logging. In Washington, Oregon's
congressional delegation was angered and disappointed. Lamented
Hatfield: "I wonder if those who saw fit to torpedo a fair,
short-term solution have anything to offer."