Washington: Who’s he lying to? The loggers? The enviros? Himself? Who?

Peter Goldmark said he will maintain timber harvest levels in Western
Washington, despite his campaign being backed by some of the state’s
most influential conservationists. In his own Cessna plane, Goldmark
took footage of the same damage. He used it in counter-ads claiming
Sutherland allowed too much clear-cut logging on steep and unstable
slopes, thus contributing to the mud, the wood piles and the misery
faced by rural Lewis County. “We have to enforce existing rules …
and make sure the public health and safety is an important part of
forest applications,” Goldmark said.

He says that can be done while
maintaining the economy of timber counties and trust land harvests
that provide local funding for schools and roads. Other TV spots
showed Goldmark, a scientist and rancher, on his Okanogan property
talking about himself as an advocate for rural areas. “I intend to be
a commissioner for the entire state and understand the needs of the
entire state,” Goldmark said. Local Republicans aren’t so sure. During
a recent flood anniversary press conference in Chehalis, state Rep.
Richard DeBolt, the House minority leader, did not mince words when
asked about Goldmark’s upcoming leadership. “So far all we’ve seen
from him is politicizing our flood event,” DeBolt said. “And we don’t
appreciate that.” Sutherland characterized Goldmark’s strategy on the
mudslide issue as a cheap shot. “He spent a ton of money on TV
advertising with that same ad that had a picture of the clear-cut and
blamed it all on me,” said Sutherland, a career politician who has
been the mayor of Tacoma and a Pierce County commissioner. “It was the
most negative campaign I’ve ever experienced.” Since the flood, the
official report from DNR is the forest practices rules were adequately
followed during clear-cut application approvals, although there might
have been some discrepancies on filing paperwork, most notably on a
slide into Stillman Creek that became the most profound public image
of the damage after it was captured in vivid detail by a Seattle Times
photographer. http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1230920505&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1

— Posted to http://forestpolicyresearch.com via gmail to posterous and
also to forestpolicyresearch@yahoogroups.com

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